The Maria Kintobor Chronicles
by JAnimeFreak
Summary: What if Maria survived the ARK attack? While escaping from GUN she passed through an ancient Arcadian portal and ended up in the home of Dr. Thomas Light. Loosely based on Anthony Bault's Heroes of Arcadia. **Progress has been delayed due to computer issues. Expect a new chapter in about a month.**
1. Bonds and Walls

Author's note: Elements of this fic are based off of ideas and theory from Anthony Bault's Heroes of Arcadia series. I did not create Arcadia, or the concepts from the series involving the Companions. This is merely the result of me realizing many similarities between my original concept and Arcadia after I had already begun to write it.

I do not own any rights to the following characters:

Thomas Light, Protoman/Blues, Megaman/Rockman/Rock, Roll, Bass/Forte, Rush, Tango, Treble/Gospel, Albert Wily, Mikhail Cossack, Kalinka Cossack or any of the Robot Masters as they are the copyrighted property of Capcom.

Julian Kintobor/Ivo Robotnik, Gerald Kintobor/Robotnik, Maria Kintobor/Robotnik, Shadow the Hedgehog, Charles Hedgehog or Jules Hedgehog as they are the copyrighted property of Sega and/or Archie Comics.

Adaman, Magi Reynard Prower, King Ralius, Zorin Harkenian, Sir Eric of the Larson Clan are characters from Heroes of Arcadia by Anthony Bault.

The ideas and theories that appear in this fic are all my own personal opinion, and not that of the original creators of any of the above characters. If you happen to disagree with my interpretation, or do not understand, feel free to e-mail me. I don't bite and in fact enjoy argumentative discussions as they fuel my creativity. Also let it be known, contacting me for the purpose of Trolling only makes me laugh. This is my story and if you don't like it, write your own. Just give credit where it is due.

Yes I am aware that several of my characters have unoriginal names. I intended for it to be a bit tongue in cheek.

Please do give Anthony Bault's Heroes of Arcadia series a read. Aside from S.I. overload, it is an engaging story and a good read.

* * *

Chapter 1

Bonds and Walls

The classroom buzzed with chatter. First year students jabbering back and forth, introducing themselves to each other. One man was sitting in the back by himself, and was already fast asleep. Nobody paid him any mind though, as he was there since the first student arrived. He would likely still be there after they were finished with this period. His long brown moustache and unusual hairstyle stuck out like they had been gelled. In reality it was due to being shocked one too many times while hard at work.

A man in a lab coat walked into the room. His sudden appearance quieted the room as he stopped at the front, setting down a briefcase and an old weather beaten book. He took a stack of papers out of the case and passed them to a student to be handed out to the rest of the class. His scraggly brown beard was as unkempt as his hair. He had long since given up on appearances. He picked up the book and held it up in front of the room.

"There is no such thing as Multiple Universes, Alternate Dimensions, Parallel Worlds and Alien Lands far off in the darkest reaches of space. To the public, this is a fact. Science Fiction stories made to occupy the thoughts of the easily entertained, and bring in some money for those authors. And who can blame them? People need entertainment in their lives, something to distract them from the boredom of their dull and senseless lives."

"But there _is_ truth to these words! The public, those poor ignorant fools, let these truths slip past them! They let the words go through their empty heads. It is in our history, and it drifts away from us as more choose to ignore it. There is documented evidence to these words. Undeniable proof, that at one point in our history, we walked on other worlds. And that people from those worlds walked on ours. That proof is written in this book, and passed throughout the ages in a certain family. This family holds the greatest secret in our world! The secret of the Golem! How to give life and free will to an object that normally would not, The Adaman Equation! This equation was named after the first and thus far only, creature to be created with it."

"His creator granted him life, free will, and the right to choose his destiny. Adaman was a pure hearted being with a thirst for knowledge. All that he lacked was the opportunity. For while he had the will, he was still confined to this world. He knew in his artificial soul that in order to grow, he would have to find a way to leave this world behind. Though he knew not how he could accomplish this feat. Then opportunity knocked on his very door. It came in the form of two individuals that were as strange as he was."

"The great Magi, Reynard Prower, and the mighty Elementalist, King Ralius of Floren appeared in our world. They too sought the knowledge of the cosmos. They had met by chance, some say. I say they were fated to meet. For when Adaman accepted their offer of friendship, they took him with. Meeting more amazing people than Adaman could ever hope to have before. Zorin Harkenian, a powerful Warrior, joined them next. Then the most pivotal character in our history, Sir Eric of the Larson Clan, the Gamemaster became one of their friends. This group of Companions traveled the worlds, and learned so much from each other."

"Then, when the worlds were threatened, they fought together. Receiving great powers through the use of their Medallions, a gift from the mysterious Traveller, they achieved victory time and again. When the Tesseran could not defeat these friends, they sought a final solution. They summoned forth a great being, an avatar of their war god, Trathalga! During the fierce battle, when all looked hopeless, one of the Companions made the ultimate sacrifice. Using the greatest power he could, his very life-force, he drove back the war god's avatar, banishing it back into the swirling ether."

"The Companions, though victorious, did not celebrate. Instead they mourned, for they had lost one of their dear friends. The Gamemaster had given the very gift of life we all have, to save the worlds we lived in. The Companions, suddenly disheartened by this, chose to return to their homes and cease their travels. After they journeyed to Sir Eric's homeland to inform his family of his great deed, they separated. The Traveller took from them their Medallions, sealing them away until such a time as a new Gamemaster, one of Sir Eric's lineage, would step forward. The doors to the other worlds closed, and remain so to this day."

"While we do not know what happened to the other three Companions. We do know this of Adaman. He returned to his creator to pass on his story. Then, in his sorrow, he left. He travelled to the farthest reaches of our world, and then sealed himself away, for he felt the loss of his friend's life keenly. He thought that he should have been the one to make the sacrifice. Not for glory or fame. Not to be hailed as the hero of the worlds. Because his was a life granted, yet not as sacred as that of one that had been born truly. Sir Eric had a family to return to, a wife and children that would miss him. All that Adaman had was his knowledge, or so he thought."

"Adaman's creator had been an elderly man who only sought to have a family of his own once again. His wife had passed on. His children had left him to live alone. They sought their fortunes elsewhere, and thus knew nothing of Adaman or his friends. All but one that is, as the man's youngest son had returned. He too felt the pain of losing family, and wished to return to his father's house. Though he returned late in his father's life, the man still loved him. He passed on his knowledge of Adaman. He gifted his son with the Equation of life he had used. He then passed on to the next life, to meet his long gone wife."

"His son, feeling that he did not deserve this gift spent years trying to find Adaman. While he never succeeded, he did find the time to write his father's, and Adaman's story. He again found a family, decided to pass on the knowledge throughout time. Generation after generation the story was given from parent to child. They did so in the hopes that one day, Adaman might return. They would then welcome him proudly as a member of their family."

The man reading the story looked around the classroom. Though the tome he was reading from was older than everyone in the room, combined, they all found the contents fascinating. "This story is not one of fantasy or science fiction! It is not meant to be used as a bedtime story for stubborn children who only want to stay up! This book and its tales are not for the likes of empty dreamers. NO!" He shouted, eyeing everyone in the room. "_This_ story is for historians! To read of the past, learn from it, _remember_ it! This book is also for scientists! To study it, know it, and understand it!"

He smiled, for with these words he had seized the attention of all in the room. Well, almost everyone, as the man in the back snored away his cares. The man in the front did not mind this action though. It was a common occurrence in his first class of the year. This man had heard his speech the last four years. He would not miss much the fifth time around. "For in this book," he continued, "is the greatest secret this world has to offer! The secret of that family, _my_ family, is contained within its pages! Encoded inside the story is the Adaman Equation!"

As a collective gasp filled the room, his smile broadened to his ears. He had them now, and there was nothing that would make them escape the trap of curiosity. "My ancestor, the youngest son of Adaman's creator, encoded the Equation of Life into these very pages. Not as a test, nor in an attempt to make sure nobody could ever use it again. He did it to protect the secret. Should the wrong person simply steal the Equation, they could use it for foul and selfish purposes." He cleared his throat and continued. "Before a few short years ago, only a member of my family could be aware of the encoding. Sadly, my family now ends with me. No other member, no matter how distantly related is left. So, to ensure that the secret does not become lost to the annals of time, I teach this secret. Not the code, nor the Equation, for I know them not myself. No I inform the future scientists of its existence."

"I present the challenge to you all, as I have to the last four years of freshmen. I believe from the bottom of my heart and soul that somebody that has attended this class _will_ unlock the secret. I may even do it myself before the end of my life. But here lies a stipulation, my terms and conditions to you all. Not because I am required by legal means to present them. It is as the last member of the Family that I do this. The sheet handed out just now is a legally binding contract. You are not to be allowed to give out any part of this secret to anyone by direct means. Not even to me could you tell anything of the Equation. It is something that must be earned! If given freely to another person, they will not regard it as it should. They will not treasure this gift to the world! You do not have to sign this paper, this legally binding contract. But should you not, I have been granted the right to expel you by the Dean. Even if you were on a scholarship, or your tuition is paid by mommy and daddy! Nothing can get in the way of true seekers of knowledge, not even greed or fear. Let us see what you all have, deep inside of you."

He set the book down and said proudly to the class. "Welcome to Scientific History and Theory. My name is Dr. Thomas Andrew Light, and I will be your professor throughout the semester and beyond. I welcome you all to the Neo-Chicago Institute for Advanced Learning."

* * *

After the last of the students had left, Thomas walked to the back of the room and nudged the sleeping man. "You slept through it again Albert." He said. He then walked over to the doors and closed them, hoping to have a private conversation with his friend. "I thought you might find a replacement for your Intern amongst my new students.

Albert stood up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "You knew damn well that I would fall asleep. The only reason I keep coming is because of our friendship Thomas. Otherwise I'd be asleep at my house now. I run the night classes for the Robotics Department. A position that you deserved and should have taken. Heck, you should be working as the Head of that Department!" He huffed. "Instead I have to deal with that annoying ego maniac Doppler."

"I am sorry Albert, but I feel that this is where I should be."

"No you're not! You spent the last four and a half years hiding from your memories. So instead you teach History and Theory? Practically giving away your family's secret to just about anyone who comes waltzing in here. You should be teaching it to the Medical Department or the Robotics Department. These kids could go from here to Chemistry or Paleontology. What good would it do for them then?" Albert looked at Thomas with sorrowful eyes. "You and I know that if you had stayed in Robotics your Prototype would have been finished by now. Instead it collects dust in your Lab surrounded by piles of useless parts, tools and clothes."

Thomas looked back at his friend. "Who then would carry the legacy? Who would remember Adaman or the Light family? After almost one thousand years it is widely regarded as a fairy tale. In another thousand years, it'll be erased forever. And what if a new Gamemaster comes forth, yet nothing is there to fill the gap Adaman left? It would not be any better than when Sir Eric died. The portals would remain closed and Arcadia would suffer for it. I do this to preserve their future, since I could not do so for my own."

Albert walked over to his friend and placed an understanding hand on Thomas' shoulder. "Look Thomas, I miss them just as much as you do. Our wives, our children are gone, yet not forgotten. I wish, more than anything that we were doctors of Medicine back then. It just didn't happen like that though. Why can you not look past the accident and move on?" He asked. "Find a new woman for you to continue your life with. You are only thirty-three; you still have many years ahead of you to fill with children."

Thomas shrugged off the hand and picked up his suitcase and book. The familiar feel of its binding giving him comfort, and courage. This book would have been passed to his children, like it was to him. "Seven years Albert."

"What? What about seven years?"

"That was how long it took Angelica and I to succeed in having kids. Even then it was a miracle of science that gave us that chance. I am unable to produce another child biologically Albert. While I was ready to adopt should it have failed, I cannot do so without her support anymore. With your wife, my distant cousin, gone as well, there are no more members of the Family of Light left. I am the end to a millennium of lost hope. My only option left is to give the knowledge to those that seek knowledge."

He walked over to the door and opened it. "You are truly my oldest and dearest friend, Albert. I cannot trust anyone more than you to be my support, as I undertake this task." He walked out the door, and down the hall. His last thought of the morning coming through his mouth. "I only hope I can see it happen in my life. So that I may see it with my eyes, and apologize to him for not being able to greet him sooner."

"Adaman"

* * *

By the time Thomas reached home, the sun was low in the sky. Soon it would reach down and kiss the horizon like a mother kisses her child. His home was large, big enough to take up half the block. This wasn't because there had been a large family living there, nor because it was a complex of apartments. His home also doubled as his personal laboratory. Two complete levels were filled with the accomplishments of the last nine generations of his family. Everything over the last two hundred years that made humanity advance had been created either in part or completely by a Light.

The second floor was dedicated to awards, doctorates, certificates and a few Nobel prizes. The third floor was filled with gizmos, gadgets and shelves of written theories. Everything from diesel engines to formula models were scattered around. It was here, in the far back corner, which stood Thomas' creation that earned him his doctorate. On a dusty stand was a small robot with large eyes and feet, and a yellow hard hat. It looked like a head with feet. The Metool was a multipurpose robot that could do anything from gardening to security. It had the special ability of being able to connect to any machine and control it with ease.

This was a long time ago to Thomas. He walked into his lab on the ground floor and flopped onto the couch. All around the lab were small piles of randomness. One pile was spare Metool parts, another one a mixture of clean and dirty clothes. The tallest one of all was a scattering of tools, books and papers. Whenever he got stuck on a thought, he threw it into the pile. Originally it was a table; it was probably still there, where he set things aside for a later time. Procrastination was a common friend to him by now though. He probably would have thrown his Prototype there as well, but it was too large for him to move by himself.

Instead, it lay on top of the work table just in front of the couch. Just as Albert had said, all it was doing now was collecting dust. Everything in the lab did. Thomas had hired a maid to help clean the house up once. She gave a serious effort to clean, mostly because she was going to be paid very well. After a week of cleaning she made no real improvement. This was mostly due to Thomas' messy habits that he picked up by then. She quit right there, told him what she thought of him, and then left. The last time he had cleaned was about two months ago. That was only because Albert threatened to clean it himself, with a torch.

As he sat on the couch, he stared at his Prototype. It was to have been his greatest creation. The Robot Master, a robot able to command other robots, like the Metools. He could have finished it before the accident, but Angelica had suggested he try to use the Equation on it. The thought had piqued his interest, and he dived into his family's legacy once more. He had half the formula decoded when his whole world had fallen apart. He was putting the final touches on a gemstone that would have acted as a power focusing device.

The gem, a piece of crystalized Beryl, tainted by the Manganese 3+ that had surrounded it, was about the size of child's head at first. Angelica had been the one to find it on a dig. She recognized its potential for power manipulation and gave it to Thomas to use for the Prototype. He consulted a few people he knew, members of the gem cutting community in Neo-Antwerp. They suggested a twelve sided gem with a flat top and a point on the bottom. Not practical for use in jewelry at that size, but it could be used to focus energy in that form. Thomas had cut the gem himself by hand. He was putting the final cut in when Albert ran in to tell him about the accident. He swung the hammer too hard. The chisel dug in deeper than it should have.

It lay on the table just as he left if at that point in time, split in twain. He stood up and walked over to the table. Maybe Albert was right? Maybe it was time to start work on the Prototype once more? He picked up the halves of the gem and looked at them. They were dusty, but appeared no worse for wear. The last chiseling had taken off the final imperfection. It was just in two pieces now. As he turned them in his hand, sunlight that had squeezed its way in through the curtains reflected off the stones. They began to glow faintly in response to the light. This came as a surprise to Thomas, as he had never seen this kind of reaction in the gem before. Was this what Angelica had seen when she discovered it? With that thought in mind, he rushed over to the curtains and pushed them open. The sun was just about to go to its nightly rest. Just enough time to see the reactions of the stones.

He held the two halves up to the light. He moved them higher, then lower, seeing if it was their position to the light that mattered. Nothing more than the soft glows from before. He was about to give up when he saw a reaction. As the stones moved away from each other, the glow lessened. He moved them to shoulder width apart. The glow increased to that of a low watt light bulb. He brought them closer, and the glow increased. The sun was getting closer to falling behind the horizon. He did not want to wait until tomorrow for this. He had to understand the reason for the reaction. It was obvious that the two halves functioned together. It was just a matter of finding out how close they needed to be. He moved them closer, this time to within a foot. The glowing was intense now; he had to squint now in order to see clearly.

"Closer," He said, "I need to get closer."

They were now at a six inch gap. The glow was almost as bright as the sun, and the stones were heating up in his hands.

"Closer!" He said again.

He moved them to within an inch from each other.

"CLOSER!" He said once more with excitement.

A red spark of energy jumped the gap between the two. Then another one jumped. Then two, and four, and then more. Suddenly a whole group jumped at once, and his hands were thrown away from each other. A shockwave blasted through the room. A hot wind began to blow from everywhere and yet nowhere. Objects began to take flight throughout the lab. Books and tools whooshed past him as if made of nothing. Socks and shirts formed into a tornado of smells and colors. The gem pieces never stopped their glowing, even though they were over four feet apart. In the distance, the sun bade its final farewell for the day and vanished. As it did, another shockwave washed through the lab. This time it blew Thomas over the table and back onto the couch, which flipped over as he landed.

The wind died down, disappearing like it had never been there. The clothes tornado fell apart, bits of it flying everywhere. Believing it to be safe now, he crawled out from under the couch, setting it up right, to survey the damage. Nothing major was broken, much to his surprise. As he looked around, he saw something so unusual that he thought he imagined it at first. Looking in that direction once more, he saw something incredible. A red and gray mass of energy swirled in the same spot where he had been standing. What could it be? He wondered. He walked around it and pulled the draw cord for the curtains. No need to scare the neighbors after all.

It was two dimensional, looking like a tall, thin piece of metal on the side. Looking into the front or back revealed a depth that it was mesmerizing. He could almost feel himself being drawn into it when he heard a noise that snapped him out of his daze.

Gunshots! This energy mass led somewhere! And on the other side was somebody shooting a fire arm, several of them. He heard a voice call out, "Run! Maria, run away from here!" It was followed by a sound that could only be the rush of air being released by a compressor. As he stood there in front of it, a young girl ran through and crashed right into him. The two of them tumbled to the ground. Thomas was quick to recover and sat up. He looked at this new person with curiosity. She was a young woman, maybe sixteen years of age. She wore a light blue knee high dress. Her long hair was a bright blond color being held back by a sapphire hairband. She wore a pendant of black and red hair attached to a silver chain. On the ground in front of her was a picture frame that had fallen face down, and an old book.

He was about to help her back to her feet when two men in military uniforms ran through the mass of energy. They held rifles in their hands, and the word "G.U.N." was emblazoned on their uniform in several places. They looked at each other, then back at Thomas and the girl. Pointing their rifles at them, they shouted.

"Halt traitors! Don't move, and forget about running anymore. We have orders to shoot anyone who resists on site."

Thomas was at a loss for what to do. Who were these two soldiers? What was G.U.N.? And why were they chasing this girl? He then heard another voice, this time from behind him.

"Resist this, jerks!"

Suddenly from over his head flew Thomas' work table? It fell into the two soldiers and knocked them down, keeping them pinned down and unable to reach their rifles, which had flown from their hands. Thomas spun around onto his hands and knees to get a better look, and was stunned. Before him stood his robot! It wasn't moving very well, and looked to be ready to fall at any moment. Thomas saw something in its hand and began to understand a bit. Clenched firmly in its hand was half of the gem, glowing just as brightly as before. The excess energy in the air was flowing through it and into the robot.

"My Proto …" He began to say, when a scream came from his side. Looking around he saw why. Before his eyes, the two soldiers had moved the table and had stood back up. But before they could do anything else, they started to clench in pain. It looked like they were going to fall again when they started to change into crystal. First at the joints, then it began to expand farther until it enclosed their bodies completely. He turned his attention to the girl, half expecting to see the same effects. Instead she began to glow, the light so intense that she turned into a miniature sun. The light faded quickly, revealing that her form had changed. Where her long hair had been, was now short fur and it covered her whole body. Her hands now ended in claws and her shoes had broken off due to the expansion of fur and claws. Her face took on a feline expression and her eyes changed as well. When it had finished, she had passed out, the other half of the gem in her relaxed hand.

"I think I heard something from the other side of this thing. Let's check it out."

The voice had come through the energy mass again. As he looked at it, prepared to receive more soldiers with weapons, another object flew over his head. He looked back, and saw the Prototype had once again moved. This time it looked like it had pitched a baseball. Looking back at the mass of energy, its red and gray pattern had one half of the gem stuck to its right side. He caught on to what his robot was trying to do. If bringing the pieces together had opened it, maybe doing it again would close it!

He took the other half from the girl's hand and threw it at the left side of the energy mass, where it stuck. At first nothing happened, then suddenly the energy mass began to be absorbed into the stones. "It's closing! Hurry up and get through it!" came the voice again, but it was too late as the halves came together again, closing the door once more.

He caught the stone halves before they hit the ground. Looking around the floor he managed to find something of use, an iron box he would use to hold excess materials. He placed the stone pieces in the box and closed the lid. He did not want to risk having another reaction, even if the sun had left for the day. His mind raced as he thought of what to do next. He moved over to the girl and tried to see if she had been injured. He picked her up and moved her to the couch, noting that she seemed to have a tail dangling out of her dress now. He covered her up with his lab coat, and went to check on the Prototype.

It had not moved since it had pitched the half of gemstone. Thomas' best guess was that the stone had given it power for as long as it was in contact with the robot. He was not going to be able to move it easily unless he had help. Help! He just had a thought, he was going to need some help figuring this out, and not let the authorities get involved just yet. After all, they would simply confiscate his equipment, his robot, and his stone. Worst of all, they would take the girl away to some secret lab and be subjected to untold tests.

He looked to the wall where his phone was at, and saw that it was not on the receiver. There were other phones in the house, but he was trapped in the main room at the moment. The blasts of energy and the wind had effectively blocked the doors. He was lucky that this phone had a find function. As he pressed the button, he could hear the phone's response beneath a nearby pile of clutter. He quickly dug it out and dialed the familiar number. As expected, it didn't take too long for a voice to come over the other side of the line.

"Neo-Chicago Institute for Advanced Learning, Robotics Department, how my I help you?"

"Carly, its Dr. Light, I need you to get me Dr. Wily, and quickly."

"Sure thing Dr. Light, give me a moment, I think he's still with his class." She said.

It seemed like he was waiting for hours when he heard, "Dr. Wily here, this had better be good Thomas."

"Albert, I need you to get over to my lab right away!" Thomas said quickly. "Something has happened and I could use a hand. Get Mikail while you're at it, I'll need him as well."

"Why do you need Cossack?"

"I'll explain when you get here; I can't trust an open phone line like this. Just hurry!" He hung up the phone before Albert could present another argument. He set the phone back on its receiver and slumped to the floor. "After this is all done, I'm going to need a drink!"

* * *

About an hour later there was a knock at Thomas' door. He tossed the pile of clothes in his arms into the washer and closed the lid. "I'm coming" he called as he hurried to the door. He opened it up to reveal Albert and another man standing there. The other man had a short haircut, and neatly trimmed beard, glasses and a lab coat. In his hands was a medical bag.

"What's this all about Thomas?" Albert asked. "I left that lazy intern Cain in charge of my Intermediate Robotics class."

"It moved Albert!" he exclaimed.

"What did Thomas? Your clothes pile?" Mikail asked as he reached out and grabbed a stray sock that had stuck to his shirt.

"So you're cleaning up Thomas? I guess that is cause to call us both away from the Institute during class times." Albert added sarcastically. "Pop the champagne cork and poor me a glass of the good stuff."

"Just hurry up and get in here you two!" Thomas said, grabbing his stray sock back from Mikail.

He led the two of them inside, then closed and locked the door. His two friends looked around in awe as they could see a drastic change to the interior of the lab. Most of the clutter had been picked up, except for the tall pile of old and unfinished projects. The table was still over by the wall, as were the two crystalized soldiers. The Prototype had also not been moved, being too difficult for Thomas to move by himself. The only thing they could not see what the young girl laying on the couch, since it was facing away from them.

"What in the name of Mad Science happened in here Thomas?" Albert exclaimed.

"I think I opened one of the Arcadian Portals Albert." He said.

"Right here in your lab?" Said Mikail. "Are you sure?"

Thomas picked up a book from the nearby table and held it up so they could read the title. It read, "The Arcadian Companions – By Sir Reynard Prower, Royal Magi of the Court of Acorn." He set it down and moved over to the two soldiers. "After the portal opened, I could hear gunfire. These two came through chasing somebody. When they threatened that person and I, the Prototype had come to life and threw the table at them. Albert, it was the stone, the one that Angelica had given to me. It opened the portal, it powered the Prototype, and I think it caused this." He pointed at the sleeping figure on his couch. "She is the person these two were chasing. After those two had turned into crystal, she began to change as well. Except that she had one of the gemstone halves in her hand."

Mikail stepped around the couch and opened up his bag. He began to check the girl's vitals to ensure that she would not need to be taken in for emergency care. "So she was not like this when she stepped through the portal?" He asked.

"No Mikail, she was as human as we are. I'm not really sure what actually happened, but it looks to me like the stone had stopped her from turning into crystal like the other two had. Almost as if it was protecting her." Thomas said a confused look on his face.

"Then why transform her?" Albert asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"I'm not completely sure on this yet, but I think the portal was unstable." He replied. "It looked like it could fall apart at any moment. Also, the portals mentioned in my family's book said the portals had a blue color to them. The one today had a gray and red color to it, swirling into an ugly mixture."

"Alright, so then we can determine that you did open a portal, and that it led to a world that has knowledge on Arcadia." Albert mused. "We also know that anyone who would have traveled through it would have been affected by the instability. We know that the three that came through _had_ been human. From the looks of the book, it is possible that they came from the Magi's world."

"I thought the world of the Magi was home to intelligent animals." Said Mikail. "So why were they human? Is it possible that they evolved over the last one thousand years into a human form? Like the beings from the Elementalist's world had done from plants?"

"It is possible, but we don't know much about the other worlds of Arcadia. From the evidence we have here, I'd say that humans and the animals co-exist on their world." Thomas said, showing them the picture the girl had brought with her. In it was two human males that looked almost exactly the same, but one was obviously older than the other. They sported long and distinct moustaches, were bald, and wore lab coats and glasses. In front of them was a young girl seated in a high backed chair, wearing the same clothes that the girl on the couch wore. On either side of her were two shorter creatures with quills. One was blue and wore a lab coat as well, while the other was black with red markings on his quills, arms and legs.

Mikail stood up and put his things back into his bag. "Well, she is stable now, just sleeping. I'm not really sure if anything else could be wrong with her due to the difference in her no longer being human. We will have to wait for her awaken in order to determine that for sure. I suggest that we leave her be for now, and I'll check on her again once she has woken up."

"She probably will need a bit of time before that Mikail. The drastic changes to her will need to be given time for getting used to. This will be an even more traumatic experience than just being chased by men with weapons." Thomas said. "I'll give you a call when she is a bit more mentally stable."

"I take it that you'll be out of the Institute tomorrow then." Albert said. "I'll tell the Dean so he doesn't worry about you. Just a minor setback is all. Besides, that intern of yours, Hikari, will make sure that your class is taken care of." He smiled briefly. "Of course, he doesn't need to know exactly what is going on here. But the suspense will be killing him."

"Alright, now that we have an idea of what we're doing, can I get a little help with moving my table and Prototype back to where they belong?" Asked Thomas. "They are kind of heavy for only one man to carry."

The three of them worked for another hour trying to make sense of the mess that was Thomas' Lab. When they were done, the table and Prototype were back in front of the couch, and the two crystalized soldiers were moved to a far corner so that they were out of the way. Mikail and Albert went on their way, either back to the Institute or home. Thomas walked into his room and prepared himself for sleep. He still thought he could use a stiff drink, but decided that it would be best to wait until a more appropriate time.

After he had gone to sleep, a figure moved outside his window, its eyes shining a faint blue. "So the last of the family has managed to open a portal. This may very well be the time I have been waiting for. I'll be back to meet you some day, Dr. Thomas Andrew Light. I can't keep you waiting too long."


	2. Prototypical

Chapter 2

Prototypical

The next morning Thomas woke up with a sense of purpose. After checking on his guest, he ate breakfast and got to work. After ensuring there were no more stray clothes anywhere, he started to clean out a spare room. He startled himself when he managed to get it all ready by nine o'clock. He paused long enough to think about his class. "If I know Hikari, he's busy handing out the textbooks and informing the students of the homework." He said, with a grin. His first assignment had not changed over the last four years. His students were required to read the entire book, his family's book, in one night. The quiz he gave students the next day was quite literally a breaker of spirits, but was good practice for what they could expect from future classes.

He was only granted two weeks to cover this topic, before he would be forced to move onto the long, drawn out history of science. It wasn't much time, but it was enough to catch the attention of students, and give them a drive, or thirst, for knowledge. After the events of last night, he would have to see if he could get the time extended by another week for the next year. By that time, he hoped to use what he could learn to expand his own knowledge on the subject.

He scratched his head, and walked back into the main room. As he did, he saw the young girl stirring. He walked around the tables and sat down in a nearby chair. "I'm glad to see you're awake. You had quite the experience last night, young lady." He said.

She looked at him from the couch, still lying down. She was obviously confused, and possibly a little scared. "Where am I?" She asked.

"You're in my home, and personal Laboratory. My name is Dr. Thomas Light." He replied. "And you are?"

"Maria," She said back, and then asked, "You're home? I'm not on the ARK? Did G.U.N. take me?"

Thomas shook his head. "I'm not sure what an ARK is, but those men that were chasing you won't be doing much of anything ever again." He said, pointing to the crystalline statues that were in the corner. "I'm not sure what happened to them, but it seems that traveling through an unstable portal caused that to happen to them. It very nearly happened to you as well."

Maria gave him a look of concern, she was just waking up and having so much thrown at her young mind. "Portal?" She asked. "Did I travel to one of the other Arcadian worlds?"

"Indeed you did young lady. This world is the home of the mighty Golem, Adaman." Thomas said. "I am the descendant of the man who created him. The portal you traveled through was my fault. An accident occurred that caused it to open. As it seems to have been a solution to your problem."

"I see then." She said. "It would seem that I owe you a great deal then. How did I not turn to crystal like those two?"

Thomas stood up and walked over to the work table with the Prototype, putting a hand on the iron box that held his gemstone. "The stone in this box seems to have some unusual properties." He said. "It caused the portal to open, my Prototype here to move, and saved you from becoming crystal. Though you might be surprised how it did that last feat."

"What do you mean?" Maria asked.

Thomas held up one hand, pointing at it with the other as he wiggled the fingers on it. "Go like this, if you please."

She held up her hand without looking at it as she was trying to figure out what Thomas was trying to do. She finally looked, seeing her hand was covered in a cream colored fur. "AH!" She yelped in surprise. She then looked at herself, and felt her face with her hands. "My arms! My Face!" She pulled out the collar to her dress and peeked down. "My everything!"

Thomas turned away at that last part, face slightly red. "Ahem, as I was saying though. I'm not sure how it happened, but it certainly saved your life from what it seems." He said. "From what I know of the other Arcadian Worlds, and from the book you brought with you, I'd say that you transformed into a Mobian."

Maria looked at Thomas, a fear building up in her eyes. "You found my book?" It was obvious that she was trying to take her mind off her transformation.

"Yes, I set it on my shelf over there, along with the picture you had." Thomas replied. "I thought they would be better over there as I cleaned the place up." He walked over the shelf and picked up the picture, and two books. He brought them to her and set them on her lap. "I figured you might want that second book. It's an extra copy of my ancestor's book."

She picked up the book and looked it over. This particular book looked like it had been read more times than thought possible. Yet, it seemed to be well cared for despite this. She opened the cover and saw a hand written note. 'Never forget, and always remember that these words are true.' ~ Andrew Alric Light.

Thomas was walking away again, this time towards the kitchen. "That is the book my grandfather used to read to me every night. He was a firm believer in the words in that book. Because of him, I believe them as well." He paused for a moment. "There are few left in this world that believes those words. I'm sure that you're hungry, so I'll be right back with some breakfast."

* * *

After he brought her some food, Thomas went back to cleaning. This time working on the mountain of discarded projects. If anything else could be done, he set them on a nearby table. Otherwise he simply threw them into a large trash bot, which happily 'ate' them. It was slow work though as he had to be sure that he couldn't do anything with the item. Many of them he had to wonder why he had started them. One was even a robot that was supposed to clean up this very pile. Like the rest of the objects there, it too was never finished. He shrugged, and dropped it into the trash bot, who hopped with joy.

Maria sat there quietly, as she read through the book Thomas had given to her. Every now and then she would look up to see what strange thing he had pulled out of the pile. Some of them were so silly looking that she giggled slightly. A pair of hedge clippers with feet, a walking lighter, and a top with eyes. They looked silly, but she could see the practicality behind them. One would have been an automatic hedge trimmer, leaving more time to work on other projects. The lighter could be marketed for many purposes. The top, though odd, could be used to take panoramic photos in an instant.

After another half an hour, she had finished the book, and had set it down. She looked over at Thomas, who had a small red robot with a flip-top in his hands. He thought about it for a moment, and then began to drop it into the trash bot. "Wait!" Maria said.

This startled Thomas, as he quickly grabbed the bot away from the eager trash can. "Did you say something?" He asked.

She stood up, pulling on the lab coat that she was using as a blanket, and walked over to Thomas. She was a little awkward at it, as she was getting used to her new features like her tail. She reached out and touched the red bot in his hands. "I think you can still use him, Dr. Light." She said. "Maybe as a mobile storage unit?"

Thomas looked at the bot, not sure what to make of it. "I suppose I could change it to do that. I had originally designed him to be a salad shooter." He set the bot down on the table next to him. "These will have to wait though. I have one thing that I must see finished first."

"The robot on the table over there?" Maria asked, pointing at the Prototype.

"Indeed," Thomas said. "My Prototype for a new series of robots. This one in particular was going to be programmed with the Adaman Equation. Though, I have yet to finish decoding it. That and I ran into a problem with the power source."

"I might be able to help." She said, smiling. "Though I am young, I was studying many fields of science back home. My grandfather was rather impressed with my abilities."

Thomas nodded, and they walked over to the work table. He opened the box, checking to make sure no light was coming from the curtains, and pulled out the two crystal halves. Seeing this, Maria gasped, which got Thomas' attention. "You've seen something like this before, haven't you?"

"This is a Chaos Emerald!" She exclaimed. "I thought these only existed on my world, Mobius! But its split in half?"

"My fault really." Thomas admitted. "I was cutting off the last imperfections when I received some ... disturbing news. I swung the hammer a little too hard, and the crystal split." He thought for a bit about what she said. "You called this a Chaos Emerald? It is true that it is crystalized beryl, but what makes it chaotic?"

"These gems are a source of power to many people on Mobius. These stones are able to channel the special energies of the universe. Depending on how they are used, they can grant power to an individual, or cause destruction on a large scale." She said. "And you said you carved this one yourself? Where did you get the raw form?"

Thomas choked for a bit. He was eager to continue the conversation, but also didn't want to return to the subject of his depression. He thought about it, trying to see if there was a way to avoid the topic. There was no way around it though; he would have to talk about it eventually. Maybe this was why this girl was here? To give him somebody to talk to about this? He straightened his back and cleared his throat. "My wife found it about five years ago on a geological dig. She was the one to suggest I use it to power my robot."

Maria looked around, seeing what still lingered of the mess. "Your wife? Is she on another dig? Is that why she isn't here?"

"She died," he said, "the same day the stone was broken. Along with my children, my cousin and her own child."

Maria snapped her hands to her mouth, quickly realizing that she had touched upon a sensitive subject. She could certainly see how hearing about that could cause him to swing a chiseling hammer that hard. "I'm sorry ... I didn't mea-"

He held up a hand to stop her. "That's alright Maria. You did not know, and it is something that I had to admit out loud anyways. I've been a bit of a mess since that day." He waved his hand towards the remaining clutter. "As you can see, I might very well have been a lost cause. Even my two friends could not stand to see me like this. I think the events of last night woke something up inside of me though. Since then, I've felt a fire building in me, one that I haven't had since I started to build this Prototype." He shook his head, and took a deep breath. "I think that maybe you were the answer all along, Maria. I just needed a sign to start back where I was. And damnit if curiosity didn't bite me like a cat . . . no pun intended mind you." He said, suddenly mindful of her appearance once more.

Maria smiled and giggled. "I don't think I mind right now. This new form is still just that, new. I'll probably look back at that comment a lot later and laugh." She then took one of the gemstone halves from his hand and looked at it closely. She was surprised at how clean of a cut it was, for it being the product of an accident. It looked like it was cut by a master jeweler and then polished. "I think I might have a solution for you Dr. Light" She said, holding her hand out for the other half.

Thomas gave her the other piece and took a step back, just in case something happened. She held the two pieces up to inspect how far off they might be, and was surprised again. There were no gaps, nor imperfections in the site of the split. She pressed the two together, holding them up to her face. Except for a slight line, it looked like a whole gem. She then looked at the Prototype for the power chamber. Seeing an opening in its chest, she began to draw figures in her head.

"Lightbulb!" She said as she smiled brilliantly.

* * *

The next few weeks set a pretty standard schedule. Thomas would go into work during the day, and keep hinting to his students that he would have a surprise for them soon. In the afternoon, he would come back and find Maria asleep on the couch, despite having her own bed, with one of his side projects out in front of her. Either Mikhail or Albert would stop by to see how they were doing, occasionally press ganged into cooking if the two of them were occupied with their work. As they worked, they would swap stories about their lives. Thomas told her about his wife and twins. Maria telling him about her grandfather and cousin, the two men from the photograph.

It was amazing to Albert when he would come over and find more and more work done on the Prototype. At one point, he gave up and asked. "Is this all you needed Thomas? A cute lab assistant?"

This caused Maria to stop what she was doing and blush through her fur.

"Albert!" Thomas replied. "What a thing to say!"

"It's the truth Thomas. And judging from her photo, she would have been a big hit at the Institute had she gone." Albert said. "It's just that I haven't seen you this excited about a project since, well, since you started this one originally! Even Angelica would have to say the same thing if she were here."

"I don't thi-" He began to reply, when Maria cut him off.

"He just needed a kick start to his motivation Dr. Wily." She said. "I'm not saying I'm the cause, but I am certainly helping the matter. Especially since I'm just about done with this modified power chamber. After that, all that is really needed is the Equation."

Albert shook his head. He wasn't used to being around a smart woman again. "Maybe so, but I can't help it. I've seen this man wallow in self-pity in the silence of this place for just over four years. I'm glad he's back on his feet again. I just wish he'd have done it sooner. It would have made my life easier." He sighed. "It's hard to feel sorry for yourself, when you have a friend who's in the same boat."

"I can understand a bit of those feelings as well, though." Maria said. "After I lost my parents to a disease, all I had left was my grandfather and my cousin. I wanted to just crawl into the smallest place I could find and cry. I'm sure my grandfather felt the same way. We got an even bigger shock when we found out I had contracted the same disease."

"You're sick?" Thomas asked.

She shook her head. "Not anymore, thanks to my grandfather and the others in my photo. It was taken the day I was cured. The two Mobians, both Hedgehogs, are the main reason I am still alive." She looked at the photo, as it was sitting on the shelf next to where she was standing. "The blue one, Xavier Hedgehog, was a Mobian doctor and was allowed to come aboard the ARK, a scientific research facility in orbit around the planet. He worked with my grandfather, Gerald Kintobor, and my cousin, Julian, towards finding a cure for NIDS, or Neuro-Immuno Deficiency Syndrome."

Albert stopped her, "Your grandfather cured NIDS?!"

She nodded. "With help, and a project called 'The Ultimate Lifeform', or Project: Shadow. The other Hedgehog in this photo is Shadow, the result of the project, and cloned from one of Xavier's hairs. My grandfather's only reason for working on the cure was for my sake. Once he was sure he had synthesized a viable cure, he administered it to me via blood transfusion from Shadow."

"Thomas, do you know what this means?" Albert asked his friend.

"I do Albert, but there is a slight problem with your line of thought." Thomas replied. "The portal that brought her here was unstable, and could cause all sorts of problems if we opened another one. Also the last she had seen any of them was right before she came here."

"My grandfather and cousin were probably arrested. On a false accusation of being traitors to the government. Xavier was shot right before my eyes, and I personally ejected Shadow into space in a life pod to save him." Maria said. "Our heads of state were concerned that we were creating a weapon intended to be used by the Mobians to attack them. All because grandfather created Shadow as a Mobian, and not an Overlander, a human."

Albert took a step back, and then sat down in a chair. "All because of distrust among species?"

Maria nodded, and continued. "My people tend to think they're superior to Mobians, just because they're human. This overlaps the one main fact. The Humans on Mobius are not native to that world!"

"What!" Both Thomas and Albert said together.

"They migrated from this world and the other earth back during the time of Sir Eric." She said. "It was looked at as a sign of cooperation among allied worlds at the time. Even my own ancestors came from this earth." She then looked at Albert. "If there were to be anything to be done for those that suffers from NIDS here on this world, you would either need Shadow, or me. Since I've been cured of the disease, I'm sure a sample of my blood could help those that are studying it."

Thomas asked her, "Are you sure this is alright?"

"Eventually it will leak out where we got the sample from. There are some people on this world who wouldn't think twice about having you dissected for study." Albert added. "We'll ask again, are you okay with this?"

Maria nodded. "I'm fine with that then. I want to help anyone who is suffering like I was. I may not be a human anymore, but that doesn't mean I have to act any different. Heck, the Mobians act more human than my own people."

"Thomas, I'm going to call Mikail over. He's really the only one we can trust with this right now." Albert said.

"I agree Albert. You know where the phone is." Thomas replied.

Maria looked confused at this. "I thought Dr. Cossack worked at the Institute with the two of you?"

Thomas looked at her, a serious tone to his eyes. "He does, but he's a doctor of medicine as well. And ... His daughter Kalinka has NIDS."

Maria turned to where Albert had gone. "Dr. Wily!"

"What?" came a distant reply.

"Dial faster!"

* * *

"You know Thomas," Albert was saying a few days later. "I think somebody may have just sent that girl to us on purpose."

"I had the same feeling Albert." Thomas replied. "After talking with her for less than a day, I suddenly felt like I had a weight lifted off my shoulders. Then she turns out to be a certified genius, and having a key part to curing NIDS in her body." He laughed. "It was almost as if the gods of science were smiling on us my friend."

"You know I'm standing right here, right?" Came Maria's voice from behind a welding mask. She was working on a steel jacket to keep the Chaos Emerald in one piece as it would sit in the Prototype. She finished the last tack on the jacket and stepped back, flipping her mask up to see better. "That should do it Dr. Light." The Emerald sat in a piece of metal that resembled a top. The peg at the top would fit into a bracket with a pin lock that would rotate the gem at a high rate of speed. The rotation would ensure that Chaos Energy would spread evenly throughout the robot without interference from the crack.

"Maria, you know you can call me Thomas. I told you that after you started to work with me on this." Thomas said. "All this Dr. Light business from you sounds like I should be standing on a pedestal whenever you talk to me."

"Well I'm sorry then Dr. Light!" She said with a hint of sarcasm. "The way I was brought up on the ARK, we called people by their titles. It denotes respect to the other person. I'll stop calling you that once I get my own doctorate."

"She's got you there Thomas, and I don't think you'll change her mind." Albert said with a grin. "Though she could take some classes through the online study programs, she'll eventually have to attend the Institute. You can't hide her forever anyways. I'm sure cabin fever will set in soon." He twisted his mustache in thought. "I'm sure that the Dean will allow her entry, but she'll have to be a legal adult first. The Alumni Association would never allow anyone under eighteen as a student. You saw that first hand with your brother-in-law."

"Well then," Maria said with confidence, "It is certainly a stroke of luck that my eighteenth birthday is coming up soon." She smiled at them. "Unless you use a different calendar than the one on your wall over there." She pointed at one that was next to the Prototype's Table. "I'll be another year older in about seven days. It's strange though, according to the date on there, it is almost twenty-two years since the day that I left the ARK?"

"Twenty-two years?" Thomas said. "You've only been staying here with me for almost a month!"

"I'm not sure why, but the years that our worlds seem to count are exactly the same. The date I came through that portal from Mobius was June of 1977. According to your calendar here, the year is 1999, and the thirty-first of this month, July, is my birthday." She said. "I don't know how to explain it really."

"Maybe this is another side effect of the instability of the portal?" Albert asked. "We already saw it affect both Maria and those two soldiers." He then thought for a moment. "That would actually make you -"

"Forty years old," she said, having done the math herself. "Huh, so technically I'm older than the two of you!"

"Should we get you a cane?" Albert said with a smile.

"Only if I can hit you with it!" She retorted. "So how about this? We'll be done with the Prototype by then. We can take him to the Institute to unveil him, and get me enrolled all at the same time!"

"She's twisting us around her little finger Albert." Thomas said.

"At least it's a cute finger." Albert replied, causing Maria to blush slightly. "Despite its age." He added.

"Hey!"

* * *

Over the next few days, Thomas kept himself secluded in his private office. Not even Albert knew what he did in there, but it usually involved detail oriented work. So he kept himself in there to avoid any distractions. When he finally came out, he held a small object in his hand. He held it up for Maria and Albert to see.

"What is it Thomas?" Albert asked.

"This, my friend, is all the hard work and dedication of one thousand years of stubbornness." He replied. "On this chip, is the very essence of the Adaman Equation!"

Maria stood in awe of that announcement. "So you finished decoding the book?"

"Indeed I did Maria, though I have one thing left that I do not understand." He said. "'To finish the Equation and bring your creation to life, you must give it something unique, yet something possessed by all.'"

"That's a silly riddle!" Albert said.

"But an easy one, Dr. Wily." Maria said. "Something unique, yet something everyone has? A Name!"

Albert and Thomas stared at each other, almost ashamed that this young girl had just shown them up once more. Thomas then cleared his throat. "I do have a name for him. I can't call him the Prototype forever, after all. His official designation will be Proto Man. I'll reveal his real name tomorrow along with him."

* * *

The next day a small group of scientists, doctors, and their assistants were seated in Thomas' classroom. Since it was a Saturday, classes were held in the afternoon. So the gathered group would have no worries about interfering students. At the front of the room stood Albert and Mikhail on either side of a curtain. Mikhail's young daughter, Kalinka was sitting quietly in a chair off to one side. Seated in the front row was the Dean of the Institute, Dr. Isaac Asimov, the Mayor of Neo-Chicago, and the Robotics Department Head, Dr. Dominic Doppler. Various others were filed into the seats behind them from the Robotics and Medical Departments. All present were called there by the Dean, wanting a good turnout for this presentation.

Thomas gave the signal to Albert from behind the curtain, who then gave a slight nod to the Dean. Dr. Asimov stood up and addressed the gathered people. "Mr. Mayor, Dr. Doppler, my fellows in science and medicine. I called you all here at the request of Dr. Light, Dr. Wily, and Dr. Cossack. The three of them have some announcements they would like to share with us. I would like to say that I am glad they bring this to us, their fellows, first and not the press. They can be a noisy and pandering bunch anyways. I ask that you bear with me as I know this takes from your normal schedules." He turns around, and nods to Albert. Who then pulls the curtain to reveal Thomas.

Thomas is standing there in his lab coat in front of a work table. A form can be seen hidden underneath a cloth on top of the table. Another covered figure, Maria is standing behind the table. She was going to great lengths to hide her features from the gathered crowd. All anyone could make out was that she was female, her face hidden by a deep hood she had stitched onto her lab coat.

"Thank you Dead Asimov, for allowing us to do this here. Gentlemen, I have made it no secret that I strove to uncover the secrets to my ancestor's work. I wanted to ensure that the Adaman Equation was not lost to history once I was gone from this world. While over a thousand years ago he had created life from clay and metal, I do so with metal, synthetic tissue and rubber. What I have to show you is nothing less than a miracle of science. To the average man he is but another robot. But to you, my colleagues, he is so much more. I give to you, the successor to Adaman!"

Maria pulled the cloth away from the table to reveal the Prototype to the seated scientists. Working a remote, she moves the table so that the robot is in a mostly upright position. "I will say now, that without the help of doctors Wily and Cossack, I would not be here before you. Their assistance in this momentous event is no less great than my own. May I present the second creation of the Light family's legacy, and the first in my series of Robot Masters, Proto Man!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a data card, holding it up for all to see. "With this Prometheus Chip, Proto Man will receive the full, decoded Equation of Life. The same one that gave life to Adaman.

Thomas then slid the card into a slot on Proto Man's chest. He then took a step back as Maria press a button on her remote, opening the windows. The room became bathed in light from the morning sun. When the light reached Proto Man, the sound of gears turning and servos firing up could be heard. The Chaos Emerald, sitting in its chamber, began to spin. It spun slowly at first, and then power generated from the gem began to spread. As it picked up speed, the robot began to move. First his hands, then his legs. Finally he moved his head towards his creator.

"Hello Dr. Light." He said.

"How do you feel Proto Man?" Thomas asked. "Can you stand up?"

Proto Man slowly sat up, shifted himself to the edge of the table and stepped down into a fully standing position. "I feel alive! As if I could do anything Dr. Light."

"Ha!" came a laugh from the front row. Dr. Dominic Doppler, the Robotics Department Head, smiled and said, "The silly thing is only being fed by the sunlight! Tell me Light, what will you do when there is a cloud cover, or at night even?"

"I'm glad you asked that Dr. Doppler." Thomas replied a smile on his face as well. "But first, Proto Man is not a thing, he is alive. Proto Man is only his designation, his name is-"

"Blue Prometheus Light" Proto Man said. "Or just Blues, for short."

Thomas nodded with approval, he was not sure he would know that right away. "As for his power source, Dr. Doppler. It is a crystalline matrix using material discovered by my late wife. Though the design for its use came from the mind of my brilliant assistant." He motioned to the hooded figure standing on the other side of the table. "Maria, if you would be so kind?"

Again, Maria pressed a button on her remote, this time closing the blinds. At first nothing seemed to happen. Then Proto Man began to show signs of powering down, a look of concern crossing Thomas' face. This only made Doppler smile with a gloating look on his face, as he stepped towards Proto Man.

"See? Some ultimate creation!" He exclaimed. "So much for the Light Family's 'Legacy'!"

"I knew you would do that." Proto Man said. He then reached out and grabbed Doppler by the front of his jacket. "Do not doubt the abilities of the Light Family!" He then glared at him, lifting him off the ground. "Just who the hell do you think we are!?"

"That will be enough Proto Man." Albert said. "Don't forget the Asimov Laws. 'First Law of Robotics; A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm."

Proto Man thought about this as Doppler smiled. "That means put me down, you useless hunk of scrap!"

Proto Man held him there for a little longer, and then said, "Nah. I don't think I like those 'Laws', or at least when they apply to this human."

Fear began to fill the scientist as he began to tremble in Proto Man's robotic grip.

"Put him down Blues." Thomas said. "You're not setting a very good example, and you've proven your point."

"Very well Dr. Light." He said, setting the offending scientist down, and then leaned in close. "I don't like your attitude Dr. Doppler." He then let go and walked over to his creator.

"As this proves," Thomas said. "Those with the Adaman Equation have free will to make their own choices! Despite Dean Asimov's brilliant Laws, they could never apply to Proto Man unless he chose to."

Dr. Doppler quickly regained his composure and declared, "I want that thing dismantled! No robot can disobey the Three Laws! One that does should not be allowed to exist, otherwise it may cause harm to humans, who are obviously superior!"

Maria stepped forward, still hiding her face. "Will you hunt down Adaman as well Dr. Doppler?" She asked. "He was created in a similar fashion, and with the same ability. Or is he exempt from these laws because he was created well before they were ever written?"

"Adaman is a myth!" Doppler cried. "A fabrication of the so called "Light Family" to boost the ego of the few accomplishments they had." He grinned at her. "Adaman exists no more than that childish notion of Arcadia that Dr. Light has been teaching in this very classroom! I'll not have my knowledge tested by some young girl not even willing to show her face!"

Thomas, Wily and Mikhail smiled at each other, for they knew what was coming next. "Well then, Dominic," Albert said, "Allow me to introduce you to young Maria Jennifur Kintobor. A former resident of the Space Colony ARK, from Mobius!"

Maria grabbed her hood and pulled it down so that all present could see her face. She then took off her gloves and boots as well, to prove that it was not just a mask. "Arcadia does exist Dr. Doppler!" She said.

"You found a Mobian? That is what you were keeping form me this last month Albert?" Dean Asimov asked.

Mikhail shook his head. "Thomas is the one who found her Isaac. As well as a portal to her world, though it is closed for now." He then held up a file thick with medical data on her. "I can verify that she is not of this world, though her ancestors are. She's actually related to me by quite a lot of generations."

Doppler began to sputter at these claims. "Bah, genetic engineering is nothing new to our world, and you Dr. Cossack can admit that it is not beyond your abilities."

Dean Asimov then stood up and looked at Dr. Doppler. "Now Dominic, let's not take this any further. Three Department Heads have all the evidence they need to prove their claims. There is no need to slander them, plus a guest from a world that hasn't been heard from in over one thousand years."

"Three Department Heads?" Dr. Doppler asked. "I only see Cossack from Medicine and Light from History. Where is this third Head at?"

"Oh?" He replied. "You mean that Albert never told you? He has been the head of the Micro-Robotics Department for the last six years. Though he really wants your position instead." He turned to Albert. "It looks like you lost our wager little brother."

"Brother?" Doppler exclaimed.

"Half-Brother really," Albert said. "Long story, but we don't need to get into family history right now."

"Indeed Albert," Dean Asimov said with a nod. He turned back to Doppler, who was turning tomato red. "You've been stealing intellectual property from promising young students for a few years now. One such document, which is sitting on my desk at this moment, states that you met Adaman years ago." He smiled, and continued. "The whole paper was written by a young intern by the name of Cain."

"I still can't believe you weaseled me into keeping him on my staff." Albert huffed.

"I do thank you for it Albert." Asimov said. "Now then Dominic, take this as your delayed two week notice. You're Fired! You have one hour to clean your office out and turn your keys into security." He then smiled a grin to make the Cheshire cat jealous. "You are the weakest link, Goodbye!"

With the utter shock of everything kicking in, Doppler ran from the room. He was followed out by two other scientists, angry glares on their faces as they chased him.

Mikhail looked down the hall and watched the three turn a corner and out of sight. "I think that poor Dominic will not be making it to his office in time Dean Asimov. It looks like Dr. Gate and Dr. Weil want to have some 'words' with him."

"Oh I figured that to be the case anyways Dr. Cossack. I had his office confiscated last night anyway." The Dean said, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cube.

"Isn't that your 'Portable Room'?" Thomas asked. "I never thought I'd see you actually use it."

"Ha," laughed Albert. "One thing you never knew about my brother Thomas. He's a practical joker to the core. First off, there is no such thing as the Micro-Robotics Department." He glared at the Dean. "Second, Cain is on the Dean's payroll as my intern. Otherwise I would have pitched him to the curb for being so damn lazy." He then picked up a pair of scissors from the table and threw them at the Mayor. Instead of a scream of pain they all heard air escaping as the "Mayor" deflated. "Third, the real Mayor is on vacation in Neo-Cancun. Meet my brother's patented 'Automated Rubber' copies."

"One of my greatest creations!" The Dean claimed. "An inflated copy of any person that moves from guidance of a remote control."

"I'd be a little more impressed if you didn't use me as the test subject!" Albert barked.

"Oh, but that was CLASSIC!" Asimov said, very amused with himself. "You really thought you were on a date with the prom queen."

"Just shut up and give me that idiot's office so I can move in!"

"Baby!"

"Ass!"

"You should learn to loosen up."

"You should go die in a fire!"

Maria looked at the two in confusion. "Are they alright?"

"They're fine, Maria." Thomas replied. "They're always bickering like this. I'd expect nothing less from siblings." He turned to Dean Asimov. "By the way Isaac, how did you really know Dominic was lying?"

"That's right," Albert said. "You never listened to the claims before. I even gave you a good deal of evidence from Gate's Claim."

"Ah, that would be because I met somebody who could refute his claims without any chance for rebuttal." Dean Asimov said.

"Who?" Maria asked.

"Me." Came a voice from the back of the room. The source of the voice was a person, if you could call him that. He was made of clay and metal, though he looked a little worn, and some of his joints had rust on them. "You may call me Adaman."


	3. Reunions and Disappearances

Chapter 3

Reunions and Disappearances

"They've been talking for over four hours now." Albert said to his Half-Brother. "What all could he have to tell?"

"There is over one thousand years of history that they need to catch up on Albert." Dean Asimov said. "I'm sure you would want to talk to him just as long were you in Thomas' shoes."

The two of them were sitting in in the Dean's spacious office with Mikhail. Also in the office, and playing together off to one side, were Maria and Kalinka. The two seemed to hit it off rather quickly for having just met. It helped that Maria knew what Kalinka was going through medically. The young girl had just started her first treatment cycle that her father had synthesized from the blood sample Maria had donated.

"Those two are getting along nicely." Asimov said. "Normally Kalinka would be hiding behind your coat Mikhail."

"It helps that they have a common background Isaac." Dr. Cossack replied. "Maria knows better than any of us how it feels to be affected by NIDS. She is just what my little Kalinka needed."

"That seems to be the reoccurring theme in our growing conversations." Albert said. "First she reignites the spark in Thomas. Then she provides us with a viable cure for NIDS. Now she's managed to help shut down the biggest ego maniac we've ever known. Plus she's great with kids!"

The door to the office opened up and Thomas walked through with Blues and Adaman. The three of them seem to be pleased with having had the chance to talk. Thomas and Adaman each took a seat next to the three doctors. Blues walked over to Maria and Kalinka. Kalinka hid behind Maria for a second before she recognized Blues as the robot from before. She giggled, and then climbed up on him like he was a walking playground.

"Hey!" He exclaimed.

Thomas looked at his colleagues and smiled. "I am glad that I finally had this chance. Thank you for making it happen Isaac."

"It was all Adaman's idea Thomas. He's been watching your family for the last couple of generations." Dean Asimov said. "When I told him that you were going to be unveiling Proto Man today, he insisted on being here. Getting rid of Dominic was a plus though." He scratched his chin in thought. "Is there any way to reopen that portal? I'd like to meet the rest of this young lady's family. If she is any kind of an example, her grandfather and cousin must be brilliant!"

"I'm afraid that will not be possible Dean Asimov." Adaman said. "Only the Gamemaster may open a stable portal now. The Traveller said that 'consequences' would occur were they opened by any other means."

"Pity that," Asimov said a frown on his face. "What of those two fellows that were turned into crystal?"

"There is nothing human left to them Dean." Mikhail said. "I looked at them on that night, and all that they are is some kind of crystal. I don't even know what kind they maybe. It is a new substance to us."

"Another pity. I do hate to see people suffer, even if they were intending you harm Thomas." The Dean replied. "So what will you do now that you are reunited with your ancestor's artificial son?"

"I'll be creating more of my Robot Masters, Isaac. Though after talking with Adaman, I'll be making some adjustments to my Prometheus Chip design. As well as helping Adaman here with a few cosmetic changes."

"Adjustments? Changes?" Albert asked. "What could you possibly have to change to something as perfect as these two?" He indicated to Adaman and Blues.

Blues was currently lying on the ground as both Maria and Kalinka were tying his hands and feet behind him. This cause a laugh to erupt throughout the room.

"Ha ha, very funny everyone." Blues said as he struggled with his bonds, a piece of long yellow fabric. "Now can somebody HELP ME!?"

* * *

After a few days, Dean Asimov called Thomas and Albert into his office. On his desk before him were two boxes that were marked with their names.

"What's the deal Isaac?" Albert half asked as he walked in. He then spied the boxes and Thomas, who had just got there himself. "You have something for us?"

"Just a gift from a couple of friends. Something I had hoped to pass on sooner, but I was waiting for the right moment." Isaac said. "Inside you'll find some objects I received as part of Angelica's estate."

"My wife willed something to you?" Thomas asked.

"She did, and it confused me to no end why she gave them to me Thomas. But I took care of them very well, and now I give them to you two. As well as a gift from Mikhail. An apology of sorts, he says."

The two friends look at each other, shrug, and then open their boxes. Surprise takes them as they behold the contents. Inside Thomas' box were two gemstones, exactly like the one he used as Blues' power source. One was blue, the other yellow. Albert found a gray one inside his box. Also inside the boxes were a few data cards, five in Thomas', and three in Albert's.

"She found three more of those gems?" Albert asked. "Who cut them?"

"I did Albert." Isaac said. "I followed the notes that Angelica left with the stones. With the exception of them being whole, they're cut exactly the same as the red one."

"What of these data cards?" Thomas asked.

"Genetic codes taken from your families." Isaac said which caused an angry glare from Albert. "I didn't ask him to do this little brother. Mikhail did this all on his own. The codes on there are from your wives, children, and those pets you two had. He thought that there might have been a way to bring them back after the accident . . ."

"But he didn't know how without abruptly cloning them." Thomas finished. "Which he knows that the clones would be unstable. Over time they too would be gone." He nodded. "He wants the data he had on them to be in our hands. So as to not tempt himself any further."

"He still could have let us know what he had done Thomas." Albert said. "Though I didn't think he'd go as far as to get the DNA from the pets, too."

"As crazy as our friend may seem at times Albert, he has a kind heart. He was looking out for us, and wanted to be thorough." Thomas replied, a smile growing on his face. "I have an idea of how to use these gems though."

"You're almost as bad as Mikhail is when it comes to ideas Thomas." Albert said.

"I have given you both these gems in the hopes that you might be able to do something with them." Isaac said. "I know that the Robot Master is your brain child Thomas, but I know that Albert would have done it first had he not believed in you. Maybe the two of you should collaborate on the next couple of robots?"

"Actually big brother, I want to decode the Equation myself, first." Albert said. "After all, I can't appreciate something like this, if I do not earn it myself." He winked at Thomas. "And you thought I was just sleeping through your speeches."

"I knew you had heard it at least once my friend." Thomas replied. "Very well then, I'll work with you on the first set of Robot Masters. After you've decoded the Equation. Do not keep me waiting too long Albert. I have a great deal of ideas tucked away for my first generation."

* * *

Because it was so early in the semester Maria was granted a scholarship, paid directly by the Dean. She joined Thomas' freshman class, who were all very excited to have both a new student and a Mobian with them. She spent quite a bit of her first day explaining that she wasn't originally a Mobian, and that she was actually forty years old by the calendar. The other students, especially the young men, weren't really interested in those facts. They even brushed aside her age claims with overdone flattery.

It wasn't long before she began to deflate the ego of every boy in the class with her knowledge. It was as if she had dangled in front of them as live bait, tempting them in for a bite. Only to reveal the angler fish that waited behind that bait, ready to swallow them whole should they swim too close. It was very amusing to many of the girls in the class, who began to take notes from their observations.

The next surprise for the students came soon after Maria's arrival as Blues walked into the classroom holding a conversation with Thomas' intern, and brother-in-law, Tadashi Hikari. By this time Blues had begun to wear a gray shirt and blue jeans on a regular basis. Around his neck he wore a yellow scarf, which is the same piece of fabric that Maria and Kalinka had tied him up with on his first day. He enjoyed showing off for the students, and suggested that he show up on a weekly basis to provide them with motivation to continue their studies. This would also give him the much needed social interaction that he would require in order to grow into his programming.

A few other changes happened around the Institute, as Albert had moved into his new Department Head position. To take his place as the Vice-Head, Isaac had nominated none other than Cain. As soon as Albert heard of this he just about tore the door to his brother's office off its hinges.

"What is this nonsense Isaac?" He exclaimed.

"Just giving the lad something that he deserves Albert." Isaac replied as he casually tossed a dart over his brother's head, hitting a bull's eye on the dartboard behind him. "He's been your intern for years now, and let's face it, he's good at what he does."

"How does being lazy make him good for the job?" Albert asked, ducking as another dart flew over his head.

"You should've noticed by now Albert." The older brother replied, smiling as he hit another bulls eye. "Despite his lazy attitude, whatever task was placed before him got completed in timely fashion. In fact, he was only lazy whenever you were around."

Albert grumbled at this. "Another of your pranks Isaac? You'd think you'd have stopped with them after you turned sixty."

This last comment made Isaac throw off slightly, as he hit a triple fifteen instead of another bulls eye. He then fixed a deadpan look on Albert. "Now Albert, we don't discuss something as trivial as age around this Institute. Especially in this office."

"I've said it once, I'll say it again. Go die in a fire!" Albert said, with a cheerful smile on his face. "Oh, and tell Cain to drop the act. I'll have some real work for him now that I can take him seriously."

* * *

The next three years were productive for everyone. Thomas had managed to give Adaman an upgrade on his body that fit more with his name. His Iron joints were replaced with Adamantite ones. While his clay skin was changed out for synthetic skin like what Blues had. His new look made him happy, as he was weary and tired in his old frame. Now he felt as good as he did the day he was created. With his knowledge that he gained in his time, plus over one thousand years worth of history, he took over for Thomas on quite a few occasions in the classroom.

Tadashi Hikari finished his internship and started a new branch of learning at the Institute, Networking Technology and Artificial Intelligence Programming. His work as the first Department Head helped to rework how computers connected to each other. As well as improve the AI parameters in base robots like the Metools. Though they were not yet on par with Blues or Adaman by far.

Mikhail Cossack finished his synthetic cure for NIDS, completing Kalinka's treatments. This earned him a Nobel Prize in Medicine, to which he credited it to Maria. He went on to find more cures for known diseases with the help of his Department staff. Kalinka, who was now six years old, was enjoying her newfound health. As well as showing signs of high intelligence like Maria's, as she was already at a junior high reading level.

Blues became interested in how human laws worked. Wanting to learn more, he began to take law classes at the Institute. He told the Dean his goal was to have a better understanding of how the law worked, and how it applied to Robots like himself. When not working in the classroom, he assisted the Neo-Chicago Police with any robotic difficulties they might encounter.

Maria was well on her way to a three-way doctorate in Robotics, Medicine and Geology. After her first year, she decided to take on more classes. The more classes she took, the faster she began to realize that she could cover three fields of knowledge in record time. She was surprised to hear that only two students in the history of the Institute had managed a feat similar to what she was attempting. The first was the Dean, Dr. Isaac Asimov. The second was even more surprising to her as it was Thomas' late wife, Dr. Angelica Light.

Albert continued to work on his own projects, as well as managing his Department. With Dr. Cain's help, he was able to integrate Hikari's AI upgrades into the curriculum. His progress on the Equation was never mentioned to anyone, as he wished it to be a surprise to everyone when he completed it. He did make it a point to keep his gray Chaos Emerald on his desk whenever he worked. He said it gave him a calm sort of feeling, as if he could think more clearly when it was near.

Everything looked like it would be a bright future for them all. They all worked towards a time when they hoped the Gamemaster might appear on their world. They wanted to greet him with peaceful world that was ready to rejoin Arcadia.

Yet fate always seems to know when to throw a wrench at dreams and hopes. One day Albert disappeared from the Institute. Nobody could account for him. Not even the Dean, who had the spare key for his brother's home. The Neo-Chicago Police placed a missing person's ad with the national registry in the hopes that he might turn up somewhere. Three weeks after Albert's disappearance, Hikari vanished as well. Several others soon followed as Dr. Gate, Dr. Weil from the Cybernetics Department and Dr. Caskett from Geology vanished one after the other. Word had even reached the Dean that Dominic Doppler, the former Robotics Head, was also gone from his home.

Dean Asimov was about to call the Board of Directors in for advice on what to do next, when Thomas stopped him. Nobody knows what the two talked about. All that was known was that Thomas soon vanished himself after that. Isaac called in a few favors, and pulled some old friends out of retirement to cover for the missing doctors, with Adaman filling in for Thomas on a permanent placement.

* * *

Almost a year passed after that. With no news of any of the missing doctors turning up, tensions only grew for those close to them. Blues, having finished with Law School, took a request from the Dean, and left in search of them. Maria, who had been staying at Thomas' place still, became even more concerned. With Blues leaving, all that she had left of her friends were Mikhail, Kalinka, Isaac, and Adaman. She hoped that something could be done, and quickly, as she felt her own personal world shrink around her.

Kalinka tried to spend as much time with her as she could. As it seemed to calm Maria down quite a bit. Then Mikhail took a job offer back in his home country of Neo-Russia. Despite his offer to bring Maria with them, she felt that she needed to be there in case somebody showed up. It still didn't help her outlook.

Maria finished her Doctorates at the end of that school year. The lack of her friends when she graduated only made her become more introverted. With both Adaman and Isaac focusing on work at the Institute, they didn't have the time to hear her concerns. She felt very alone in the world. Almost like she was on board the ARK. At least there she had Shadow to keep her company when her Grandfather and Cousin were too busy with work. Now she didn't have anyone at all. If it wasn't for Adaman coming to check on her every day at Isaac's request, it would have seemed like she had disappeared as well.

A month passed since her graduation. A long, lonely month, it seemed to her. She barely ate anything and kept to her room. The only thing that kept her occupied was two Robot frames she had found inside Thomas' Lab. She hadn't noticed them before. She was sure they weren't there before Blues had left. She shrugged it off as just not having noticed them before. Then returned to her room.

* * *

"Wake up you lazy cat!" Came a familiar voice.

"I'm not lazy!" She said quietly, not moving from under her covers.

"You certainly seem to be lazy lately. A least that is what I gather from the surveillance video." The voice replied. "Now get up already, we need your help!"

"We?" She asked, suddenly springing into a sitting position.

When she sat up, she saw Blues standing there. Or at least she thought it was Blues. Instead of his normal street clothes he was wearing a modified version of the gray body suit he wore at his activation. Over his body suit he wore red armor, boots and gloves. He had strange attachments on his arms. He also had a red and white helmet on, with sunglasses over his eyes. Were it not for his yellow scarf, she wouldn't have guessed it really was him.

"Blues? What are you wearing?" She asked. "And who is with you?"

"It's a long story Maria, just help me out here. I've got to get Dr. Wily to Dr. Cossack! But I can't find him anywhere in the city." Blues said.

"That's because he's left for Neo-Russia. That was almost two months ago." She said as she hopped out of bed and threw on her lab coat over her pajamas. "Take me to him; I'll see what I can do."

"Aren't you still a student?" The Robot asked.

"I graduated last month Blues. Now quit jabbering and take me to Albert!" She snapped.

He led her out to the main lab where Albert was laying down on the couch. His arm was twisted in an odd angle, obviously broken. The top of his head was also bandaged up, as was his left eye.

"Albert? What happened? Where have you been?" She asked as she rushed over checking his injuries.

"I said to get Mikhail, Proto Man!" Albert said in a half commanding tone.

"Dr. Cossack took a job offer back in Neo-Russia." Maria said. "Looks like your arm is broken in two places. What happened to your head and eye?"

"I burnt my head in a fire; my eye got strained from the heat. Why did that blasted man have to leave?" He asked. "I could use his help right now in finding the others!"

"Blues, grab the medical kit from the wall while I set this arm. Get me something to use as a splint." Maria directed. "Have you seen any of the others? The Dean is worried about their welfare as well. He'll want to know you're alright, too."

"That'll have to wait until I'm a bit more presentable . . . wait." He paused and looked at her as she took his arm in a firm grip. "You called me Albert?"

"That's right, I did, not hold still. You're going to feel a slight pinch." She said as she pulled on his arm, twisting the broken ends back in line. He didn't take this well as he choked on a scream. "I earned my Doctorate last month. Three of them actually." She glanced over her shoulder. "Blues! I could use that med-kit and splint right about now!"

Blues ran back to them with the med-kit and two solid metal rods he picked up from one of the tables. He helped Maria wrap Albert's arm and place it in a sling. He then helped her slowly remove the bandages around his head and eye. The entire top of his head was burned down to the scalp. No hair remained there, just around the sides and back.

"There isn't much I can do for your head until we can get you to the Medical Department at the Institute." Maria said as she applied a burn ointment to it. She then looked at his eye, which looked to be fine except for a slight discoloration. "Cover your right eye. I want to know how well you can see right now."

He covered his eye with his good hand, looking around the room. "It's rather blurry. Just shapes and color."

"At least you're able to see something." She said. "Let's get you wrapped back up and off to the Institute. I'll want Dr. Pierce to take a look at you. After that we can go see the Dean and work out how to find the others."

Albert blinked for a moment, recognizing the name. Dr. Pierce?" He asked. "As in Dr. Benjamin Franklin Pierce? That drunkard is back at the Institute?"

"Your problems with Dr. Pierce notwithstanding, yes he is back at work." Maria said. "Your brother has had to fill some vacancies since you left. We'll talk about it after we get you there; now let's get you patched back up!"

She wanted to get going as quickly as possible. Albert might very well be able to locate the other missing Doctors. And she wanted to find out what the heck had been going on.

She needed answers, and damnit, she was going to get them!


	4. Progress

Chapter 4

Progress

Dean Asimov came running into Dr. Pierce's office as soon as he heard the news. "Where is he Hawkeye?" He demanded. "Where is Albert?" He looked around the room and saw Blues and Maria sitting on a bench seat.

"Keep your voice down Isaac! I'm right here you daft old fool." Came Albert's reply from the other side of a curtain, where Dr. Pierce was busy with his bandages. "Give me a minute and we can talk, and trust me, we will."

Dr. Pierce pulled the curtain away to reveal his work to all present in the room. He had done all that he could for the burns on Albert's head and had bandaged them. He agreed with Maria on the status of his eye, and all that it needed was some time to heal. In the meantime he would have to wear an eye patch. With his arm in a cast and slung up, Albert hopped down from the table and took a seat next to Dr. Pierce's desk. "I'm warning you right now Isaac, any Pirate cracks and I'm going to hurt you." He said with a glare at his half-brother.

"I'll hold my tongue for now. How about you just stick with what the heck happened to you. And where are the others?" Dean Asimov said.

"What happened was nothing short of barbaric." Albert started. "Whoever it was that took us, I never saw him, used us in his experiments. He would send us through these strange portals. All with the purpose of finding something. We never knew what we were looking for though, which only made it harder." He scratched at his moustache. "Some of the others had been hurt while they were there. So they were experimented on while they were being fixed, then sent back out again. The last I had seen of any of the others was about two weeks ago."

"Two weeks?" Maria asked. "So you don't know where they might be?"

Albert shook his bandaged head. "I was supposed to go and search for them, and then Proto Man had found where we were being held at. There was a bit of a fight, but in the end our captor was sucked into one of his own portals. The others are still lost to the portals he was sending us through."

"Do you at least know who was all with you?" Dr. Pierce asked.

"Doctors Hikari, Cain, Gate, Weil, Caskett and the former Dr. Doppler." Albert replied.

"Former?" Maria asked.

"After the last round of experiments on him, Dominic looks to be more robot than man now. He isn't very stable either." Albert said. "He wasn't holding a very good grip on reality anymore."

Isaac nodded at this and pondered. So much happened to Albert and the others that it was becoming difficult to process. That was when he realized Blues' appearance. "So what is with Blues' new outfit? He wasn't like that when he left to find you."

"I had to do some major repairs to Proto Man though. That is why he's in that new outfit. It is so that he can safely dispose of his built up energy before it reaches critical mass." He pointed at the attachments on Blues arms. "Those are what I call Proto Busters. A form of cannon that he can now use. His sunglasses are also a permanent feature, as he was absorbing too much energy through his optics."

"I find this to be more suitable for me anyways." Blues said. "Now I can look like a real servant of justice."

"The scarf adds to it as well I see." Chimed Maria.

"That's all fine and dandy folks." Dr. Pierce said. "But if you are all done with this little interrogation, clear out of my office. I still have patients to see."

Dean Asimov agreed and they all filed out. He sent Albert home, sending Blues with him.

* * *

Maria leaned back in her chair sipping her tea Isaac had poured for her as they sat in his office. Something still seemed to be off about everything. Though Albert and Blues were back, she knew that they were going to have no time for her. Thomas was still missing as well, which meant that it was still going to be quiet at home. She felt better about having had the chance to get out and talk to everyone though.

She must have looked like she was deep in thought, as it caught Isaac's attention. "Pondering the meaning of the universe Maria?" He asked.

"Huh?" She replied, being pulled out of her daze by the sudden question. "I'm sorry Dean Asimov, what did you say?"

Isaac smiled at this a bit. "I asked if you were pondering the universe my dear." He replied. "You just look like you had a bit on your mind. Did you want to talk?"

"Ah," she said with a look of confusion. "Actually, talking is about all I could do right about now. The man I want to talk to isn't here though."

"So Thomas' absence is still felt it seems." He mused. "It is strange though, he checked in with me last week. I wonder why he hasn't tried talking to you."

This caught her attention. "He's been back?" She asked.

"He checks in with me once in a while." He said. "Over the last year and a half he's been in this very office at least seven or eight times. And I know that he makes his way to and from his place."

"Remind me to have a long talk with him when I do see him." She said. "Though it would explain where those two robot frames came from. They just appeared out of nowhere one day." She then had a thought. "What exactly is he working on? You would think that he'd want some help with it."

"Ah, well that isn't the case. I'm not sure exactly how he is managing his little project, but I've been asked to keep my mouth closed on the matter. You'll notice that I never posted his name among the list of the Lost Doctors even though he is clearly not here."

Maria nodded her head. It was made very clear months ago that he was not missing, but taking time away from the office to work on his project. "So we have to just wait and see what he's doing when he's good and ready." She said, rather than asked. "I suppose that I'll have to keep myself occupied until then. I do have a few projects left at the house."

"Why not come work here at the Institute?" Isaac asked. "You could find work at just about any Department."

Maria shook her head at this. "I want to work with him for a while first. The man is a genius, and I always seem to learn new things whenever he's around." She took a sip from her tea cup, and then thought for a bit. "Do you suppose that I could borrow one of your interns? I really could use somebody to talk to on a daily basis."

"I'll see what I can swing your way. In the meantime, I can give you Mikhail's contact information. He's got himself a new place up in Neo-Russia." He smiled. "The lucky guy has a castle! A Castle! And he paid for it in CASH! His government is paying him quite well for his services."

"That will be nice. Now I can talk to Kalinka again." She replied.

* * *

Maria spent the next few days working on several blueprints. Her time was spent doing calculations and processing ideas. The intern Isaac sent was a young girl named Rebecca who had just started her internship. She was eager to get to work, especially since she would be working with Maria of all people. It seemed that they were going to get along fairly well.

"Dr. Kintobor?" Rebecca asked. "What is it you are planning on doing?"

Maria looked up at her, and then laid her blueprints on the table. On it were several Metool design variations. "Other than small class related projects at the Institute, I never really built my own robot. It never stopped me from designing them though. And since Metools are the most basic robot available, I thought to make a few that were slightly more complex."

"Complex? How could a Metool be complex?" The young intern asked.

"Ah, but that is just it!" She replied. "Metools are already complex. Especially if you were to base them off the robots that were available back in Dr. Light's time as a student." She unrolled an old blue print on top of the others. There were several notes, scribbles and the occasional coffee stain on them. "These are the original blue prints that he used. Tell me, what do you see?"

Rebecca gave an awed look at Maria. She had almost forgotten exactly whose house they were working in. Maria had lived with Dr. Light since her arrival through the portal. Of course it wouldn't be a surprise that she had been granted access to Dr. Light's files. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked closely at the sheet of paper in front of her. "Other than the basic design and form, there is a great deal of hand written notes. Some of them even appear to be lined out, changed or smudged into disuse."

"Exactly! It's those notes that make the Metool complex!" Maria declared. "When trying to perfect the interface programming that makes the Metool so versatile, he had to make several changes as he worked. Make a mental note; the real geniuses of this world will always have a failure of some sort involved with their work."

"So trial and error play a greater part in the building process." Rebecca mused. "This means that though one strives for perfection in their work, it could never be?"

"Yes, that it the case." Came a voice from the door. Blues walked into the room with a plate of snacks for the two. "Take me for instance. My designation, Proto Man, is clue enough. I am a Prototype. An incomplete work that will always require upgrades. Upgrades that he will include in his next design, and so on."

Rebecca pondered this a moment, as she tried to piece everything together. "So it is like a form of evolution? Each generation of robots will slowly improve as their creators make improvements on their work." She paused for a second as something else crossed her thoughts. "Where does the Adaman Equation come into play? It wasn't originally used on a robot, so where does it fit in?"

"That is something of a mystery still." Maria said. "Even Adaman doesn't truly understand how the equation fits in. Just that it does. That is part of those upgrades that Blues was talking about. As we begin to understand more about the Equation, the better we will be able to apply it to later models."

"Does that mean that you'll eventually build a robot with the equation Dr. Kintobor?" Rebecca asked.

"Maybe one day I will, but for now I'll need experience with building in general." She replied. "That is why we're at this particular project now. I want to start with one Metool, and then work my way up from there. This Metool will be different than the base models though."

"How so?" Rebecca asked.

"This Metool will not be used as the typical models do. Instead I will be building both a helper, and a companion." Maria said.

Rebecca looked at Maria curiously. "You want a companion? Why?"

"That is a good question Rebecca." Maria said. "Let me ask you one in return. When you look at me, would you say that I am a person of good mental health?"

"I suppose so?" Rebecca replied. "I mean, you don't appear to have any outward signs of distress. You are a pretty famous person, and as such you could probably get whatever you needed. As well as the fact that you know several other celebrities on a personal basis."

"I see," Maria said. "Well then, what would you have to say when I tell you that I suffer from depression? Or that when I was a child I stopped talking for almost four years? Or I have separation anxiety as well as coping issues?"

"Such mental issues tend not to show on the surface that often." Blues said. "So just about anyone could have an underlying problem and may not even know it themselves."

"If you don't mind me asking, do you know what could be the root of it all?" Rebecca asked.

"I do indeed Rebecca, which is why I wanted to build this Metool." Maria said. "I lost my parents at an early age to disease. I had contracted the same disease, NIDS, through contact with them. My Grandfather, who was a scientist as well as a medical researcher, had taken me in to try and cure me. He took me and my older cousin Julian on board his research colony. The Space Colony ARK was the perfect location to help find a cure. The environment could be adapted to meet changes in my health as well as helped delay the inevitable final stage of the disease."

"I had read about how you helped cure NIDS shortly after you got here to this world." Rebecca said. "I didn't know that you had suffered from it too."

"Dr. Cossack skipped that in his reports that he made." Blues said. "He was worried that if others discovered that she once had it, that there might have been other diseases that she might have brought with her. It would have caused a bit of panic."

"Yes, that was the case." Maria said. "The thing is that it took my Grandfather and his team several years to cure me. Both he and my cousin had to leave me with the staff for a long time while they worked. The staff treated me like I was just a specimen. They wouldn't talk with me, or interact in anyway unless it was required of them. With nobody to talk to, I closed myself off."

"That's awful!" Rebecca said. "Didn't your Grandfather or your cousin have anything to say about that?"

"They didn't know anything about it." Maria said. "Julian would have been there every day were he able to. But he was planet side, as he attended University. Grandfather gets absorbed into his work, and relied on the reports that 'I was well.' They didn't find out about it until the day that Julian returned to the ARK. That same day I found out why Grandfather was so busy with his work. Because it came running into my room."

"It?" Rebecca asked.

"He, actually." Maria said, correcting herself. "A young Mobian Hedgehog was running loose on the colony. He was very fast, so the staff was having trouble catching him. He had run into my room to hide. The staff never bothered to look in there, so they passed me by. Julian came in right after they passed. I did my best to tell him that something had run under my bed. You will never know how hard it is to communicate without words until you try it for the first time."

"My mother is mute, so I had to learn sign language at an early age." Rebecca said. "So I can understand that a bit."

"Yes, well after Julian had called up Grandfather and they got the Hedgehog out from under my bed they chewed into the staff. Fired quite a few of them as I recall." Maria continued. "The young Mobian became my new companion after that. It was then that I started my treatments. They were painful at first, but my friend was with me every time."

"That friend, is that that Shadow person you would talk about?" Blues asked.

"Yes, his name was Shadow." Maria said. "My closest friend ever. I eventually learned that he was the source of treatments, and eventual cure."

"He was? How?" Rebecca asked.

"He was a specially created life form: The Ultimate Lifeform." Maria said. "He can't get sick. His injuries heal at a faster rate than normal. And his blood could be used to cure several diseases after being synthesized into a vaccine. My first couple of treatments were really tests to see my body's reaction to receiving Mobian blood. My last treatment was a full blood transfusion from Shadow. It was the first time in recorded history that a human received one from a Mobian."

"But I thought you were a Mobian, right?" Rebecca asked.

"Another thing left out of the news." Blues said. "Maria was human when she first passed though the portal. It is thought that because the portal was unstable, it caused her to change. She was originally changing into crystal, but she had a reaction to the stone that I now use for power. It stopped the crystallization and changed her into her current form."

"Wow!" Rebecca said. "So if it wasn't for that …"

"I'd be a crystal statue right now." Maria said.

"It sounds like you've had a rough time." Maria said. "Oh, wow, I guess that's a bit obvious, huh?"

"Yes" Maria said.

"So based on what you've told me, I'm guessing that you want to have your Metool to be there for you when nobody else is able to, correct?" Rebecca asked.

"You got it Rebecca. Though I'm not going to stop at just one." Maria said. "I eventually want to build more of these kinds of Metools. Maybe I can make a basic design that can help others in my situation. Sort of like a pet that can communicate with them."

"Well then, where do we start?" Rebecca asked eagerly.

"It just so happens that Thomas has built so many Metools, that he made a starter kit. So most of the wrench turning is done." Maria said. "Blues, can you get us one, please?"

"Sure thing Maria." He said as he walked back into the storage room. He was scratching his head when he came back. "Has there been anyone else here since I left? Because that shelf used to have about sixty kits on it. Now there is only thirteen of them."

"That was probably Thomas." Maria said. "According to Dean Asimov he's been back to see him a few times. There are even two new master frames sitting in his work room. So he's obviously been working on something in his absence."

"I see, well he has been known to get carried away with his work." Blues said. "Anyways, I have to go check on Dr. Wily. The Dean asked me to keep an eye on him in case something else happens."

"Tell him he should stop by in a few days." Maria said. "Dr. Pierce wants check his vision to make sure it'll be alright."

"Alright, I'll do that. Happy building!" He said, and he walked back out.

"Okay Rebecca, it's time to get to work." Maria said.

"Just tell me what you need me to do Dr. Kintobor." She replied.

* * *

Two days of working had good results for them. They had assembled the little robot and had added the hardware features Maria thought would best fit her desired plans. At the moment Maria was loading it with her specific personality programming. Rebecca was looking over Thomas' old blue prints, when she came across something that she couldn't understand.

"I don't see it in here!" She said in frustration.

"What's that?" Maria asked, not bothering to look away from her screen.

"I can't find anything on here that explains the toughness of the helmet. It has been proven to be the hardest substance on the planet. Yet only Dr. Light and a few select know the formula. I thought it might have been on the blue prints." Rebecca said.

"That would be because he designed that material before he ever built the Metool Prototype." Said a voice from the door. Albert walked in, followed by Blues. "There was a problem with it though. Its strength is only proportional to its size."

"Doesn't that mean that it would be better used on large robots?" Maria asked.

"No, otherwise Proto Man would have been built with it." Albert said. "The smaller the size, the stronger and more resistant to force it becomes. It's basic physics, you should know how that works."

"Well you'll have to excuse me for a momentary lapse of memory." Maria said.

"Yes, you old folks do have bad memory, don't you?" Albert asked with a smile.

"I'm only twenty-two Albert!" Maria said with a scowl. "Anyways, you're just in time. I just finished with the programming." She closed her laptop and unhooked her data cables. She got up and walked around the table to look at the front of her Metool. "Metool, Activate."

The Metool began to stir with life. Its feet began to shuffle and slide around as it calibrated itself. It raised its helmet, lowered it, the raised it again. It then looked around at the four standing around it. "Meep" It said.

"Well, you managed to make a Metool, congratulations Maria." Albert said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Just give me a minute Albert and you'll see what else I've done." Maria said. "Trance, activate speech protocol Webster."

"Meep" It said, it went quiet. After a few seconds more of silence it replied. "Speech protocol activated mistress. Metool Trance currently running at minimum capacity. What would you have me do?"

"Run your diagnostics and give me an update on your current data storage available." Maria said.

Albert looked at the Metool with a raised eyebrow. "Did you install a voice modulator?" He asked.

"I used the same design that Thomas used with Blues." She replied. "But I had to shrink it down and remove some of the extra features it would normally have. It only has a range of four different voice patterns."

"Mistress," Trance said. "I have completed my diagnostics. No major abnormalities in my system. Free data space available is twenty-one point four terabytes. Battery power running at optimum output. Battery life remaining is currently seventy hours ten minutes."

"Excellent Trance." She said. "Standby for now, I've got more data to transfer to you."

"Affirmative, Mistress." The Metool replied. Its helmet lowered until it completely covered it.

"Okay, I'll admit, I never thought to add a speech device into one before." Albert said. "Nor have I heard of anyone attempting it before. But why?"

"To give me someone to talk to." Maria replied. "Now then, let's have a look at that eye."


	5. The Twins

Chapter 5

The Twins

Rebecca was busy adding in the final touches to her project. She had done her research, studied all the angles of the anatomy and focused on her goal. The frame was finished and the shell constructed. All that remained was the brain as she typed in one last line of code. She disconnected the cables from her creation and closed her laptop. She stood the in silence as she looked at it. It was a Metool with sunglasses, its helmet painted red in a familiar fashion. She turned to her spectators to see if they had anything to add comment wise.

Seated around a coffee table were Maria, Blues and Albert. They were asked to take a look at her final project before it would be submitted to the Dean for review. This would be the deciding factor on whether she would be finished with her internship or not. She did not want to disappoint the Dean after all that he had done for her. Maria smiled at her and gave an approving nod. Rebecca turned back to her Metool and said, "Metool, Activate!"

The Metool began to shuffle and move through the calibration program, it turned to Rebecca. "Metool Rhythm Activated." It said in a voice similar to a small child. "How may I be of assistance to you today Madam?"

"Run diagnostics and boot up program 'Data Pad' when that is compete." Rebecca commanded.

"Affirmative Madam." Rhythm replied.

"I see that you made improvements on my voice modulator design." Maria said. "Impressive, given that I showed you the schematics for it only one time. I take it that you have it routed into the master power circuit so it operates at startup."

"I'm surprised that you didn't do that with Trance." Blues said. "Was there a reason why you didn't?"

Maria nodded and said, "I didn't want to fry the modulator given how much I had to alter the design. It might have been entirely possible that it would have caused a major malfunction, so I went with a sub-command to activate it."

"I saw that when you showed me the schematics." Rebecca said. "With the improvements I made I was able to add in a failsafe into the design to ensure that wouldn't happen." She smiled. "I've been working with you for three years now, and I didn't want you to think I hadn't learned anything from you."

"Diagnostics complete Madam, Metool Rhythm fully operational. No faults found in any system or program." Rhythm said. "Now loading Data Pad."

A small panel in Rhythm's helmet opened and a small cylinder could be seen inside. The end of the cylinder glowed a faint green, and a black transparent panel floated two feet above the Metool. Rebecca reached out and touched the panel and it opened up like a laptop. "I'm rather proud of this little tidbit." Rebecca said with a grin. "It is essentially a holographic image with physical properties that can be used for data manipulation."

Albert stared at the Metool in surprise before speaking up. "You found a way to make a projected image solid? Where did you get that idea from?"

"From the energy conversion matrix you used in your design for Blues' Proto Buster." She replied. "I watched you do some maintenance on one of them a while back. I figured if you could turn the light that he absorbs into kinetic energy in the form of a concussive blast, why couldn't it be turned into a static potential energy form? It did take me quite a while to perfect the technology though."

"You have an interesting intern here Maria." Albert said, with a hint of jealousy. "She can look at something once and improve it in less time than it took the original to be developed. Heaven help us if she were to decode the Equation and build an improved Robot Master."

"Oh you don't have to worry about that Dr. Wily." Rebecca assured him. "I have no interest in the Equation, nor in building a Robot Master of my own. It is my opinion that they should be built by those who actually have the drive to create on such a scale. I'm quite content with building small scale robots that can be useful on a more casual level."

"So why the specific paint job?" Blues asked. "Not that I mind it, of course."

"I like the color red, and I like how your helmet is designed. I threw in the shades to complete the look." Rebecca said. "I figured that the name would work well with the look as well."

Maria chuckled at this. "Rhythm and Blues. I wonder if any of us will ever run out of music based names?"

"Not bloody likely." Albert said. "I swear that crazy Angelica corrupted everyone with her love of musical names." He then sighed. "Though I must say that I miss her brand of unusual humor just as much as Thomas does. Did you know that she even wanted to name my son for me? Some crazy name, what was it … Alforte? Nutty, isn't it?"

"Well, it looks like you'll leave Dean Asimov sufficiently impressed Rebecca." Maria said. "Do you have an idea of where you're going to go work at after this?"

"Well I wouldn't mind working here with you, but I've gotten a few offers from some interested parties." Rebecca replied. "One of which I may take up on their offer. I'll have to do some interviews after my internship is officially over."

"Well good luck with those." Maria said supportively. "I know that you'll do great wherever you end up going."

"Thank you Dr. Kintobor, that means a lot to me coming from you." Rebecca said. "I had best be going now. The Dean is expecting me to be there soon. Come along Rhythm." She picked up her tool bag and laptop, and walked out to her car. Rhythm followed behind her with a happy little hop.

* * *

The next morning Maria went to pay Dean Asimov a visit at the Institute. She wasn't surprised to find Albert there relaxing in his brother's office when she arrived. He was sound asleep on the couch by the wall. The Dean wasn't anywhere to be seen though. She took a seat in one of the large cushioned chairs by the desk. She began to file her claws as she waited for him to arrive.

It wasn't long before the door opened up and in walked Dean Asimov and Blues. "Ah, Maria! I thought you would be here later." The Dean said with a smile. "That's alright though, since I was going to ask Blues to go pick you up."

"I had nothing better to do this morning anyways." Maria said with a shrug. "I have Trance computing some data for me, and he'll be at it for a while yet. Did something important come up?"

"Something important indeed!" He replied. "Rebecca accepted a job back in her home town in Neo-Oregon."

"That's great; I was worried that she would have trouble finding a decent position." Maria said with a smile. "So what company is she working for?"

"The Neo-Monmouth branch of Light Labs." Replied the Dean. "She'll be their newest R&D Technician."

"Light Labs?" Maria asked inquisitively. "But they haven't hired anyone in six years. Not since Thomas left for his project."

"Which is how she got the job." Said Thomas as he walked in the open door. "I interviewed her yesterday when she brought her Metool in for Isaac to look at." He stood there with a smile on his face, until Maria tackled him to the ground with a hug. "A little help Blues?"

"Sorry Dr. Light, but I think you'll have to wait until her excitement has gone down." The red robot said with a smile. "I'm sure she'll just end up tackling you again."

Thomas sighed and waited for Maria to release him. When she did they both stood up and dusted themselves off. "I'm sorry for my absence Maria, but it was necessary at the time." He said. "I am pleased to say that I am done with that particular field of study for now."

"So what were you doing?" Maria asked.

"I'll tell you in just a moment." Thomas said. "But first …" He walked over to the sleeping Albert and kicked at the couch. "Why are you always sleeping whenever I see you?"

"Snrk, huh, wha-"Albert said as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Damnit Thomas, I wa-"He paused for a moment as he looked at his old friend. "And where the blue blazes have you been at you damnable fool?"

"For a time, looking for you and the others." Thomas said. "I can't help it if Blues was faster at finding you than I was. Though I wasn't looking for you on this world."

"This world?" Maria asked. "Just what the heck were you studying Thomas? You were gone for six years!"

"Is that how much time has passed here?" Thomas said as he scratched his head. "I do apologize for that, but I got caught up in a bit of an oddity. Do you remember how you noticed the difference in dates from when you first got here?"

"Of course I do, and Albert here won't stop with the occasional old maid joke at my expense because of it." Maria said. "So that means that you have been encountering the same phenomenon?"

"That I have my fuzzy friend." Thomas said with a nod. "I have been researching portals and dimensional physics all this time. I have discovered a way to create my own portals to other worlds."

"Now what would make you do something like that?" Albert asked.

"You were trying to find a way to my home, weren't you Thomas?" Maria asked.

Thomas nodded as he took a seat on the couch next to Albert. "I was hoping that I could make contact with your family and let them know you were alive. Try as I might though, I could not breach the same dimensional wall that the portal in my Lab does. I talked to Adaman about this just a moment ago. He seems to think that it is like this on purpose."

"How so Thomas?" Isaac asked.

"Well, I was able to find alternate realties. The worlds that I visited were like ours, but were different enough to be noticeable to me." He continued. "In some of these worlds the Arcadian Portals were open. When the Portals were open, I was able to create my own Portals to the connected worlds. My theory is that something is keeping the worlds closed from each other unless the primary Portals are used."

"So that means that we will have to wait for the Gamemaster to return." Albert said, scratching his chin. "I guess that has something to do with those Portals I was sent through with the others. We kept finding familiar places, but they were always different somehow."

"That brings me to my next point." Thomas said. "I have found both Hikari and Caskett on alternate worlds. They've both adapted to their new homes, and a great deal of time had passed for them by the time I found either of them. Would you believe that they're both grandfathers now? Both of them were thrown backwards in their respective time streams."

"What of Cain, Gate and Doppler?" Isaac asked. "Did you find the worlds where they ended up at?"

"I found them on this world actually, Isaac." Thomas said. "And before you ask, they're not here. All three of them were stranded in various points in the future. Only Gate would have been able to return without affecting much, but he opted to stay where he was."

"If time has been such a large factor to you travelling through portals, how have you managed to arrive at this particular time?" Maria asked. "In fact, I recall Isaac mentioning you coming by every couple of months"

"Timed Portals opening from this world to wherever I was at the time." He replied. "After my first couple of tries, I managed to make it back to this time period. When I went to check in with Isaac that time, I learned that I had been making regular trips back here at random intervals. This gave me the idea to program the machine that I was using on this world to open a portal to the world I would be on. It would stay open for a brief moment to detect my hand held device. It took me several tries, and I lost a few dozen Metools in the process to get it down. I also found out that as long as a portal stays open I could go back and forth without losing myself in a different time upon returning."

"So could you open a portal to Hikari's new home, and hold a conversation with him through it?" Isaac asked. "Or maybe make the portal a more permanent fixture?"

"Holding a conversation through one is possible, but it would be easier to just go through it. As long as the portal stays open you can still return to when you left." Thomas said. "As for opening them permanently, I do not know. The longest I held a portal open for was a little over a day. I wouldn't recommend it though. What I have been doing is finding apertures in the dimensional walls and opening them up. After a while these apertures will want to return to their basic form, and thus close the portal."

"What about forcing a portal in the dimensional walls?" Blues asked. "What would that do?"

"That is something I encountered on one of the worlds." He replied. "When you force a portal open, it causes what is called a Rift. Rifts are more stable in that they have no effect on time. On the other hand they weaken the walls of the dimensions you use them on. Open enough and the walls will collapse and destroy both worlds." He pulled out a notebook and opened up. "The when a Rift closes, it seals the wall back up, but it still weak. Over time it will heal though."

"Did you encounter anything like the effect that transformed me?" Maria asked.

"No, it seems that is limited to premature opening of a true Arcadian Portal." Thomas said.

"So what can you tell us of these other Arcadias?" Isaac asked. "Any kind of hint about how to contact or find the next Gamemaster?"

"As far as finding our dimension's Gamemaster, we will simply have to wait." Thomas said.

"Damn!" Isaac said regretfully. "I just want him to show up before I die. I'm getting too old for this."

"Patience is a virtue my friend." Thomas said. "As far as the other Arcadias I traveled to, I've visited nineteen different variations. I get the feeling that there are more out there though. There is one that I found that confused me. I am absolutely positive that it is the Prime Dimension, but all my attempts to access it end in my returning back here, as if I never left."

"The Prime Dimension?" The others all asked at once.

"The original dimension, where time started, and where I suspect time will eventually end." Thomas stated, looking at his notes. "Every time a new dimension was created, there was a split in the timeline that deviated from the original. I've managed to use this as a basis for a numbering system for the various Arcadian Worlds I visited. For instance, the biggest difference between the first and second dimensions is that in the second dimension, Sir Eric never died after defeating Trathalga."

"So where do you suppose we are in this timeline deviation?" Isaac asked.

"We are seventh in the line. I managed to visit the first nine Arcadias." Thomas said. "After that I am unable to determine which Arcadia is where in the line. Those particular dimensions I've labeled using alphabetical designations until I can return to this research."

"So what are you going to be doing next oh Portal Master?" Albert said with a grin.

"First, I think I'll take a nice and relaxing nap!" Thomas said. "The last world that I visited wore me out quite a bit."

* * *

After sleeping almost a whole day, Thomas got right back to work in his Lab. He went about the work tables and gathered up all of his tools that were scattered about and brought them over to the tables that held the two Master frames. Maria came walking in with a plate of sandwiches, Trance following right behind her. She set the plate down next to Thomas and took as step back, picking up Trance and setting him on the next table over.

"Now who is this little guy?" Thomas asked.

"Meep, my name is Trance! It is good to meet you Dr. Light!" Trance said to him.

"So this is where Rebecca got the Voice Modulator idea from." Thomas said. "I might have you add one into my Maestro." He turned his head around and called out to his room. "Maestro, can you come out here please?"

"Meep!" Came a distance reply, followed shortly by a white Metool to come out of the room. "Meep?"

"Come over here and meet Trance." Thomas said.

"_Meep!_" Maestro said.

"Now don't be rude Maestro!" Thomas scolded the Metool. "Trance isn't here to replace you. He belongs to Dr. Kintobor, not me."

"MEEP!" Maestro said angrily. He then turned around and walked back into Thomas' room.

"I get the impression that he does not like me, Mistress." Trance said. "And I now need to make an entry into my Metool-to-English dictionary."

"Why is that Trance?" Maria asked.

"The word that he used isn't present in my database in English." Trance said. "But it roughly translates into 'Go Lube Yourself."

"I didn't even know that Metools could comprehend insults." Maria said.

"Maestro is a bit special when it comes to his personality." Thomas said apologetically. "He was the only Metool that I was able to recover from a portal that had closed. He was stuck on a dead and abandoned planet for roughly twelve hundred years according to his internal clock. It made him very … odd."

"Okay then, I guess I'd be a bit odd myself if I was in his situation." Maria said. "So how about you tell me what is going on here with these frames. I've seen them sitting here for about three and a half years now."

"Well, I can give you a hint." He said as he reached into his lab coat and pulled out two Chaos Emeralds, one blue and the other yellow.

"I thought you wanted to build your first production line with Albert?" Maria half asked. "Did something change that?"

"Oh I still am going to build the production line with Albert." Thomas replied. "But I will never use the Chaos Emeralds for them. I would need enough for all of them, and from what Adaman has said there will never be that many here on Neo-Earth. No, these two are going to be special, much like Blues is." He pulled out two data cards from his pocket and handed one to Maria. It had the name "Rollanda Angel Light" printed on it.

"This is one of Mikhail's DNA Cards!" Maria exclaimed.

"The data encoded on that card is that of my daughter Rollanda." Thomas said, holding up the other card. "This one contains my son's data, Rockford. I had an idea for a program that I can add into the Prometheus Chip. The DNA on these cards will integrate with their personality cores to make them as close to the original as is possible. Given that my children were still quite young, I have no high expectations for them to behave in a certain way."

"So you can have your family back in a way." Maria said. "I can understand how you feel Thomas."

"This is why I'm glad that you're here." He said. "I'll need a more feminine touch with Rollanda's personality core. I would like for you to help me with her while I work on her brother."

"That makes sense, since they were twins you will want to activate them at the same time." Maria surmised. "Alright Thomas, tell me what I need to do."

"Well, aside from building two new power cores for these emeralds to fit into, just follow everything that I do with Rockford. You are of course free to make adjustments as you go. I trust your intuition and judgment, so I know you'll be just fine." Thomas said.

"Lead the way Thomas." Maria said. "Trance, I'll need my tool box please."

"Yes Mistress!" Trance said. His helmet lifted up to reveal a storage compartment. A small robot claw extended out from the compartment holding a tiny tool box, which it set down on the table. A green beam of light emitted from his eyes and the tiny tool box grew to normal size. "Your tool box is ready Mistress."

"Thank you Trance, now how about some music?" Maria asked. "Something soft and thought provoking will do just fine."

"Now playing from your 'Music to Ponder By' list" Trance said as he began to play classical music from his speakers.

* * *

"I didn't realize just how much work you put into Blues before I came here." Maria said as she finished tightening a bolt in the knee joint she was working on.

"Yes, well if I hadn't been side tracked for as long as I was, I might have finished him within a week." Thomas said, his arms elbow deep inside the frame he was at. "But after letting him sit for over four years, plus the premature activation he got the night you arrived, I had my work cut out for me. Having you around to fix my power supply problem helped out immensely."

"But still Thomas, we've both been at this for three months." Maria sighed. "I haven't even been able to get around to her personality core yet."

"This is nothing compared to how long it took me to finish my first Metool." Thomas said. "I started designing it when I was ten, but never completed a working model until after I was enrolled at the Institute. Blues' total construction time, even if you include the time he just sat there collecting dust, is still only half of that time." He pulled his arms out of the frame, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Besides, we're almost finished with the frames. The shells, skin and dimensions are fairly easy by comparison."

"I see, so how much longer do you suppose this will take?" She asked.

"By my rough estimate, about one week on the shells. Both the skin and dimensions can be done in the same day. I've already ordered the synthetic hair for them." He said. "It should be here tomorrow morning."

"Where did you order it from?" Maria asked.

"Mikhail is sending it from Neo-Russia. He's the only one I trust when it comes to synthetic materials like this." Thomas said. "Once we get done with the cosmetic portion, we can really get into the programming."

* * *

Maria was amazed at how easy it was to apply and mold the synthetic skin that they were using. It acted just like clay, but as soon as it was in the desired shape you zap it with a low level shock and it becomes just like human skin. When she mentioned that she was going to need some privacy as she finished with the "details" Thomas suggested that he go and find some clothes for her from his wife's old closet. She put up a curtain around her work table and even kicked Trance out until she was done.

Thomas had picked out a few bits of clothing and set them down for Maria to look at later. There were four different outfits and two pairs of shoes. All of them were red, or mostly red. She picked out the one that she figured was the best fit and retreated back behind the curtain. When she was finally finished she pulled the curtain back to reveal her work.

With both bodies now completed, all that was left to do was the personality cores. This took a little more than a week to finish as this was the most extensive personality program that Maria had written, and she wanted to make sure that she made no mistakes. When she was done she handed it over to Thomas, who would integrate it into the Prometheus Chip he designed specifically for them. He suggested that Maria take some time to relax while he finished the work.

* * *

Two days later Thomas mentioned that they were going to be having a few guests over. When asked what the occasion was, Thomas just smiled and went back to work on the Chips. As she got up from the breakfast table there was a knock at the door. Maria went to answer it and got the surprise of her life when she opened the door as young blond haired girl tackled her on the spot.

"What the?!" She exclaimed as she fell to the ground. She then felt a pinching in her chest as the young girl squeezed her tightly. "AH, Kalinka I'm happy to see you too, but I need those ribs still." She gasped.

"Oh, sorry Maria! I didn't think I was hugging you that tight." The young Cossack said as she let go and stood up.

"I do apologize for that Maria, but she's been excited about coming here since Thomas called us last week." Mikhail said as he stepped inside and helped her to her feet again. "Isaac and Albert should be here shortly with Blues and Adaman."

"Just what does that man have planned?" Maria wondered out loud.

"I am not sure, but he made it sound important." Mikhail said. "He is lucky that my work allows me plenty of free time every few weeks."

"Well, how about you two come and have a seat. I'll go get us something to drink while we wait on the others." Maria suggested. About twenty minutes later Isaac showed up with Albert and Adaman. "Where is Blues at? I thought he was coming with you guys."

"He got a call from somebody." Isaac said. "He said that he would stop by later."

Once again the Lab was full of people talking and laughing as they exchanged stories from the last couple of years. Eventually Thomas came out of his office, eager to get the show started. "Thank you friends for coming over for this. It truly means a lot to me." He said.

"How about you tell us what this is all about Thomas." Albert said. "Some of us are a bit baffled by the sudden reunion party."

"Yes, well I suppose we should get that out of the way." Thomas said sheepishly. "Over the last few months Maria and I have been working on something very important. I thought it was high time to get this project off my to-do-list. We have built two Robot Masters to join in our little family here." He reached back and pulled down the curtain that had been surrounding the two bots. "I present to you Rockford William Light and his sister Rollanda Angel Light."

On two reclined tables were the completed Robot Masters. Rockford was a brown haired, blue eyed boy with a blue shirt and black shorts. He also wore large, knee high blue boots. Rollanda had long blond hair tied back with a green ribbon, and blue eyes. She wore a knee length red dress and red shoes.

"Ah, so you did get them built!" Isaac said with a grin. "Somehow I knew you would."

"Yes, well this wouldn't have been possible without you giving me those Chaos Emeralds and Data Cards back then." Thomas said. "And Roll would have taken me much longer to build without Maria's help."

"So do they have designations like Blues does?" Kalinka asked.

"Yes, they do Kalinka." Thomas replied. "Rockford will be DLN-001 Rock, and Rollanda will be DLN-002 Roll. I've decided that Blues will have a number as well. DLN-000 Proto Man."

"That makes sense, since he was the first one built." Mikhail said. "Well what are we waiting for Thomas?"

He walked over to the tables and inserted the Prometheus Chips into his robots. They began to twitch and move as their circuits were activated for the first time. They both sat up and looked around the room. They turned their attention to Thomas and said in unison, "Hello Dr. Light."

"Hello Rockford, Rollanda, how are the two of you feeling?" Thomas asked.

They looked themselves over, flexing their hands, fingers and arms before looking back at Thomas. "There do not seem to be any problems with our motor functions." They said.

"Are they going to keep talking at the same time?" Albert asked. "Because that will get annoying really fast."

"We appear to be on the same frequency Dr. Wily." They said. "It seems that it can be fixed with a slight adjustment to our settings."

"It's probably a product of the Twin Circuit that I added into them." Thomas said as he typed a few commands into his PDA. "I'll make those adjustments now."

"Update received, processing data." They said.

"Now then, Rock, can you give me an update on your power output?" Thomas asked.

Rock closed his eyes for a moment, as if thinking. "Chaos Energy Matrix running at nominal levels. No sign of overload present." He said.

Thomas nodded his head in approval. He then turned to Roll. "Roll, how is your-"

He was cut off as Roll stepped down from the table and embraced Thomas in a hug. He was a bit confused by this, and looked to Maria, who smiled. "You wanted a more feminine touch, you got it." She said. "You really shouldn't have given me so much room to work with."

Thomas smiled. "I don't mind this at all, actually. I'd rather have this instead of a basic program any day." He then pulled away from Roll and asked, "Now how are you Roll? Any problems with your power supply?"

"My matrix is running at optimum capacity with no fluctuations." She said. "I feel fantastic though!" She said as she walked around in a circle.

"Simply amazing Thomas." Isaac said. "They seem almost like they were the real thing!"

"That would be because of the data from those cards Mikhail put together." Thomas said. "DNA is an amazing thing, but it can still be useful in a digitized state. Their programming operates as if they were the originals all grown up." He smiled, "I've out done myself with their Prometheus Chips. I integrated their personality cores and DNA data into their Equations. They're limited to how much of the Equation they can use for now. As they grow, it'll unlock more as time passes. My Alpha level Chips will be a great addition to science."

Adaman walked up to the two newest members of the Light Family. "Greetings Roll and Rock, I am Adaman." He said.

Rock stepped down from his table and held out his hand. "It is nice to meet you Adaman." He said.

Adaman shook Rock's hand and smiled. "I am glad to see that my legacy will continue. Tell me, what can you tell me of your Equation data?"

"I seem to be limited on what I can access at this time." Rock replied. "I would have to say that I am operating with approximately seventy-five percent functionality."

"Thomas, are they Three Laws compliant with that level of the Equation?" Isaac asked.

"That is a good question Isaac." Thomas said. "I'm not sure as of yet. Rock, can you tell me what the Three Laws mean to you?"

Rock pause for a moment, then replied, "The Three Laws are put in place to protect humans from either malicious programming or inaction from a robot. I can see why they must be followed."

"Do you feel that you could ignore those laws?" Mikhail asked.

"No, Dr. Cossack. The laws are necessary." He replied.

"This is something that I expected, but could not confirm." Thomas added. "As they grow into their equations, they will have a better appreciation for why the Three Laws were created. I believe this will lead to a better understanding with them in time."

"Enough of the scientific analysis!" Kalinka said abruptly. "I thought this was supposed to be a big welcome party for these two?"

"She has a point Thomas." Maria agreed. "Let's have ourselves a grand old time!"

"What is a party?" Rock asked.

Kalinka grinned from ear to ear as she said, "Oh this is going to be _fun_!"


	6. The Gears of Fate Begin to Turn

Chapter 6

The Gears of Fate Begin to Turn

Over the next couple of days Thomas and Maria were acclimating the twins to their surroundings. They became familiar with the layout of the Lab and the Institute. On one day, Maria was busy making some adjustments to Trance the pair of them came in with a confused look on their faces. Maria, realizing she was about to be hit with a barrage of questions, set her tools down and pulled up some chairs for them.

"What can I do for the two of you?" Maria asked.

"Well, Dr. Light allowed us to look at his file he had on your arrival to our world." Rock said. "He thought it would be a good idea for us to know about your world."

"But we ran into something odd when we were looking through it." Roll continued. "You had mentioned to both Dr. Light and Dr. Wily that your world used the same calendar that we use here. How is that, if by all points of logic, your world should have its own unique orbital pattern, moon cycle, and length of time that a day would occur in?"

Maria smiled at the two of them, they were progressing in their reasoning skills a lot faster than Thomas had thought possible. She took out a notebook and a pencil and made a drawing of five circles with lines drawn between every one of them. "Let's start off with this, shall we? What do you think this represents?"

"A molecule?" Roll asked, as if not sure.

Rock stared at the picture for a minute before he came up with his answer. "Arcadia's five worlds, from the books that Dr. Light and you have."

"Very good Rock!" Maria said with praise. "It is indeed Arcadia, and the interconnecting lines are the paths the portals take. Now here is my next question: How many of these worlds are similar, based off of the knowledge from the books, to each other?"

"Two that I can recall, Dr. Kintobor." Rock said. "This world, Neo-Earth, and the world of the Gamemaster, Earth, are similar in not only name, but all descriptions of the landmasses seem to match as well."

"It is true, according to the data from the books, this Earth and the other are the only ones described as identical." Maria said. "But, the other three worlds also share similar descriptions in one form or another." She wrote a G on of the circles. "This world, the home of King Ralius, shares many similar species of plant life with all the other worlds. Such a thing should not be possible without conditions being almost exactly similar; otherwise they would have evolved differently. Thus making completely new species that could never be found anywhere else."

"So that means that the distance from their respective stars are almost the same." Roll concluded. "Meaning that the length of their years could be the same, depending on their orbital paths."

"You are correct Roll." Maria said. She then drew an H on the next circle over. "The world of Zorin has the most dissimilar land masses, yet the volume of land to water is similar to the other four." She then drew an M on the next world. "On my world, Mobius, the landmasses are quite broken in comparison to the others, but the names are slight variations of the ones used here and on the other Earth." On the last two circles she drew an E and an N respectively. "Now you have the last two. Two completely different worlds, that are almost identical to the point that it would be impossible. They use the same calendar, and many nations in the time of the Companions had the same names."

"Logic would dictate that as theoretically impossible." Rock said. "The possibility of this occurring would be impossible."

"But it does seem to be the case." Maria said. "And we have two things that help support this. The first is myself, having lived on both worlds, I can vouch that there are many similarities between Neo-Earth and Mobius."

"The other would be Adaman, since he has actually been to the other three worlds as well. "Roll said. "Being a seeker of knowledge, he would have looked into this when given the chance."

"Yes, he did." Maria said. "Though as far as the calendars go, I can say that Mobius does follow a different one, yet doesn't. The natural inhabitants of Mobius, the Mobians, use a different calendar. The Overlanders on the other hand, still follow the calendars from their home worlds that they migrated from."

"So, since you were originally an Overlander, you followed their calendar." Rock said. "This matched up with the one here. Though you were affected by an anomaly that sent you into the future. You still arrived here on the same Julian date that you left."

"You two are simply amazing with how quickly you're picking this all up." Maria said with a smile. "If I don't watch my back, you just might slip past me in our respective knowledge bases. Just so you have an idea of how far off the Mobian calendar is; my birthdate would be the 212th day of the 3184th year. This year is the 3231st year in the Mobian Calendar."

"That is a difference of one thousand two hundred and twenty-five years." Roll said.

"True, but that is only according to when they actually started that particular counting cycle." Rock said. "Even our calendar dates back farther than the first year of the Gregorian calendar. And every major civilization had their own calendar before this one was unanimously accepted."

"You know, I think you two might have to start attending classes at the institute before long." Maria said. "Now, I think I'll finish Trance's adjustments. He gets grumpy if I keep him powered down for too long."

* * *

A month passed since the twins were activated with little interruption. Thomas was surprised when he got an excited call from Albert. No more than ten minutes later he came by the Lab with a large stack of papers, a laptop and a briefcase full of diskettes. They retreated into Thomas' office and didn't come out until four hours later and only because Roll told them that they had to come get some lunch. They almost made it back into the office before Maria grabbed them by their ears and pulled them back into the main room.

"Will you two quit running around like excited school children and just spit it out already?" Maria demanded. "I've been trying to work on my next project, and yet all I can do is try and figure out what you two are up to."

"We are sorry about that Maria, but we got so caught up in plans that we forgot to tell you what was going on." Thomas said.

"And that is?" She asked.

"I've finally got the Equation completed on my own!" Albert said proudly. "So we were discussing how we should go about working on the first series of Robot Masters. Designs, functionality, implementations, and so on."

"I see, I guess that would be a justifiable reason to act as you have the last couple of hours." Maria said. "Can I help you out, with the planning at least?"

"I don't see why not." Thomas said. "You might be able to help us out with our current predicament."

"We don't know how many Robot Masters we want to build." Albert said. "Thomas thinks that two would be easy enough. I think that twenty would give us a larger showing when we do the eventual press release."

"Having seen how long it takes to build just one?" Maria exclaimed. "Twenty is too many, but two is definitely not enough to work with. How about eight? That would cut your work down to less than half, but still give you a decent amount for the press release."

"That seems fair Thomas." Albert said.

"That it does Albert." Thomas agreed. "Now we did decide that each Master would have a specific task that could help humans in difficult or dangerous tasks. But which tasks?"

"I can see a use for one that can work in heavy labor or construction being a good idea." Albert suggested. "Maybe one that can run a waste management plant?"

"As well as one that could manage a power plant, or even generate its own power to distribute?" Thomas said. "One for Robot Master Maintenance as well."

Maria walked over to the table that has some of Thomas' old junk pile robots on it, bringing one back with her. "Might I suggest one that works with this design?" It was the incomplete hedge trimming robot. "With the right kind of tool, it could be used for clearing out land that has been affected by forest fires."

"You know Thomas, she might just be onto something!" Albert said.

* * *

Over the next three months, Thomas and Albert worked diligently on their project. They agreed that since they didn't need to have personality cores as detailed as the Twins, that it would take less time to program. Albert was tasked with programming each one as they completed the frames. Meanwhile Thomas worked on the details, as each one was given a specific detail that would help in their work.

They planned on activating them simultaneously before they revealed them at the press conference. This would give them time to see how they interacted with each other and work out any bugs that they might have in their systems. The Robot Master with the design suggestion from Maria was the first one to be completed. Followed by Albert's suggested construction model, an artic explorer, a demolitions expert, the waste management robot, the electrical generator and power plant manager, a robot with the ability to manipulate small moments of time, and the maintenance robot.

By the time they were ready to activate them, almost another month had passed. Maria had to marvel at the efficiency of these two friends when they really got to working. About all that she could do the entire time was stand back and marvel at them. It reminded her of watching her Grandfather and Cousin hard at work back on the ARK.

"I'm absolutely sure that if the two of you had enough supplies, you probably could have built an army of these in only a few more months." She said to them as she brought out some lunch. Trance hopped along behind her with a tray of drinks. "I've never seen either of you this into your work before."

"Oh, you should have seen us during our time as students at the Institute." Albert quipped. "If it weren't for Angelica, we probably would have starved to death."

"It was much more than that." Thomas said. "There was that one time that she had to leave for two weeks. She managed to convince Isaac to keep an eye on us, but we still managed to bypass physical limitations by staying awake the entire time."

"I remember that quite well." Albert said. "Angelica nearly chewed Isaac's head off for not noticing that. Meanwhile, you had fallen asleep in the middle of wrench turning."

"It's amazing that you two haven't seriously injured yourselves all this time." Maria said sarcastically. "You do know that after seventy-two hours of sleep deprivation, you are considered to be legally insane."

"Wouldn't be the first time we've been called 'Mad Scientists' by our families and friends." Albert said. "That is half the fun, I think."

"So will you be activating them soon?" Maria asked.

"They have a few more minor details to be finished before then." Thomas said. "I've modified the Alpha Chips that they will be using. This is only to make up for their lack of Chaos Emerald power."

"What are you using to power them?" She asked.

"Solar Fusion Generators." Albert said with a smug look. "I've been working on this design for years, and I've finally perfected it." He walked over to the Construction bot and opened up its chest compartment, revealing the power unit. "It will charge up power during the day, and convert it into a condensed form of Hard Light, which will then act as a battery. It has no danger of over-charge due to way the condenser operates. There literally isn't enough daylight in a typical day to completely fill up the battery. This will drain during the night time operations, but it can also be stored in external stations that each robot will have as a docking unit."

"The docking units will allow us to update their programs with new orders, improved software, and give us a review on their internal diagnostics." Thomas said. We're also looking into making the Solar Fusion Generators on a larger scale as a clean energy source for large cities like Neo-Chicago or Neo-New York City."

"That could change the whole world!" Maria exclaimed.

"As well as make us incredibly wealthy in the process." Albert pointed out. "Not that we aren't already well on our way with the Robot Master Project, or Thomas' own Metools."

"That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask the two of you something." Thomas added. "What do you think about me expanding my home?"

"This place is already larger than most mansions Thomas!" Albert said. "Why would you want it to be bigger?"

"I plan on making this the official headquarters of Light Labs, Inc." Thomas said. "I've already got offices in Neo-Tokyo, Neo-Hong Kong and seven other major cities across the country. But I still don't have a major office. The fact that my Grandfather left his company in my hands after he passed on meant that I'd have to set one up eventually. So why not right here, where we have already established an Arcadian Portal exists?"

"He makes a good point Albert." Maria said.

"How big are we talking, Thomas?" Albert asked.

"At least a city block, for now." Thomas replied. "I would like to see this place grow, just not up. I can see having large numbers of scientific experiments in a skyscraper being a bad idea." He looked out the window, where he could see Rock and Roll playing with some of the local children. "The area directly behind the house is all open space anyway. So I won't have to convince any neighbors to move out. All that I have to do is seek approval from the City Council."

"Which will be easy to do after the press conference." Albert said. "This will also create several job openings once you've expanded." He laughed at a thought. "Thomas Light: The soon to be insanely rich, business savvy, robot building, genius. If you would just take a few of my suggestions, we could add Playboy to your list."

"I'll leave that to the younger folks, Albert." Thomas said. "Like that Akatsuki fellow from Neo-Japan. The one that runs Nergal Heavy Industries."

"He plays with it too much for my tastes." Albert said. "He throws it in people's faces wherever he goes."

"Tell me about it." Maria added. "I get an email from him almost weekly, asking me to come visit him. Claiming that he has an 'Offer' that he thinks I can't refuse. I think somebody should deflate his ego before it makes him go airborne."

* * *

The next week, once again with Isaac's help, they held their press conference at the Institute's main lecture hall. Just about every major robotics major, world leader and industrial tycoon were there for the unveiling of the Robot Masters first production line. Eight tall cylinder shaped objects were covered by heavy cloth, with Maria standing near the first one. Thomas stood at the podium, with Albert just off to the side.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, world leaders, businessmen, and my fellows in the field of robotics." Thomas started. "It has been many long years since my first unveiling of the first Robot Master. Many things have happened that delayed progress in this endeavor, but we have at last begun work on the greatest project our world has seen in a long time. My colleague, Dr. Albert Wily, and I have worked long and hard over the last four months to present these wonderful creations to you."

He turned around and motioned to Maria, who pulled on a rope that flung the cloth away from the cylinders, revealing eight different robots. "Behold the first generation of Robot Masters!" Thomas exclaimed. "Each one built with a specific task in mind, to better assist humanity."

He gestured to the first robot, which had a large pair of scissors on top of his head. "First, DLN-003, Cut Man, a robot designed to help with our lumber industries, as well as to help combat forest fires through careful and deliberate means. It is expected that he will be able to reduce the damage caused by this destructive force by at least thirty-seven percent, if not more."

Continuing down the line, the next one was a large robot with a hard hat and built like a football player. "DLN-004, Guts Man will be able to assist construction companies with heavy labor tasks, while reducing the costs for expensive equipment, and without actually replacing the human work force. He is capable of lifting loads that are twenty times his own weight, drive foundation pillars into the ground by hand with exact measurement and location in mind, and is programmed to prevent on-site accidents from occurring if at all possible."

The next robot in the line was a short figure with a parka, snow pants, boots and gloves. "DLN-005, Ice Man is designed to withstand extreme cold temperatures. His purpose is to assist with arctic research groups. He can maintain research equipment, retrieve samples, and can observe animal species that would be in his field of view without interfering in their habitat."

Next was an orange and red robot with a Mohawk. "DLN-006, Bomb Man, is a demolitions expert. He will have the dual task of assisting with the mining industry, as well as being on call to assist law enforcement with defusing and disposing of hazardous materials or devices.

The fifth robot in the line had what looked like a stove pipe on top of his head, and at the end of his arms. "DLN-007, Fire Man, can handle extreme heat environments. He is also programmed to manage waste processing and recycling plants. He will also be on call to assist Cut Man in the case that controlled fire will better handle a forest fire."

A black and yellow robot with a lightning bolt on his forehead was next. "DLN-008, Elec Man, can generate power on his own in amounts that could power a small city. He will be managing power production plants, reduce shock hazards, and ensure that equipment will never break down."

He then motioned to the last two in the line. "DLN-009, Time Man, and DLN-010, Oil Man, are support units to the other six. Their job is to maintain their fellow Robot Masters and operate the instant Robot Teleportation equipment that will allow them to move freely to their designated work sites and emergency locations."

He then turned back to their audience. "It is our hope that there Robots, as well as the many more to follow, will be of assistance to mankind in an effort to make this world safer, more efficient, and productive. Are there any questions?"

A man in a blue suit stood up, his hand raised. "Dr. Light, this Robot Teleportation equipment, could it be used on more than just robots?"

"At this current point it time, only Robot Masters, who are installed with a special device, can utilize the system." Thomas replied. "I have not tried to test the system on humans as of yet due to the possibilities of failure. It is something that we will be looking into, but only once we can determine it to be a safe means of transportation to living beings."

"Rumor has it that you the two of you are currently working on another project." A young woman with a notebook and pen in her hand asked. "Is there any possibility that you could shed some light on this subject?"

"Sadly, that will have to wait for another time, miss." Thomas said. "It is still a work in progress, but it will be something that will change the world for the better."

Another woman stood up. "Dr. Light, just how much did Dr. Wily assist you with this project?"

Thomas shook his head at the question. "As I said earlier, Dr. Wily and I worked together as a team. Credit for these magnificent robots should go to us equally."

"Dr. Light, you said that these robots number designations start with DLN-003." An older man surrounded by men in black suits said. "How many others are there currently, and what are their purposes?"

"There are currently two others that I built with assistance of Dr. Maria Kintobor." Thomas replied, indicating Maria. "They are lab assistants that will be working with me directly. They have no other job, special tasks or purpose, except maybe to keep me company."

A young man with long hair in a white suit stood up. "Dr. Light, could you maybe explain what your relationship with Dr. Kintobor is? And maybe her phone number or address?"

"Ah, Mr. Nagari Akatsuki of Nergal Heavy Industries." Thomas said with a smile. "As far as any relationships, I view Dr. Kintobor as a colleague, a friend, and see her as a member of my family. As far as her phone number, I believe you should ask her yourself. Feel free to stop by my home, where she lives." His smile broadened. "Do be aware of one thing though, Mr. Akatsuki. Her feline appearance is not just for show, she does have claws, and has expressed a desire to sharpen them on your face should you come near her."

Akatsuki was yanked down by his ear into his chair by a stern looking woman that was seated next to him, his personal secretary, Erina Kinjo Won. "I'll be sure he gets the point Sir. Sorry for the interruption." She said with a look of frustration at her boss on her face.

"Thank you Ms. Won." Thomas said. "It is nice to see somebody has a hold of his leash." The whole room erupted with laughter at this exchange. I have time for one more question, as I'm sure that many of you have more pressing matters to attend to."

An older gentleman with grey hair and a well groomed mustache stood up. "Dr. Light, given the grand possibilities that these Robot Masters represent, will you be keeping their construction methods a secret, like you do with your Metool alloy?"

"For the time being, it will remain with Dr. Wily and I." Thomas replied. "Given the fact that they were built with a refined version of the Equation of Life, I do not want this to be a public commodity to be abused. If another person, aside from the two of us, was able to unlock the Equation on their own, I would be willing to share the design with them. It may come to the point where I'll allow the designs to be made public, and only keep the Prometheus Chips secret. It is something that I will have to consider as time passes."

* * *

"Remind me to send Ms. Won a 'Thank You' gift." Maria said after they made it home.

"I wouldn't bother, Maria." Albert said. "She wouldn't accept it. She's stubborn to a point, completely business minded, and only keeps Akatsuki on a tight leash because that was part of her job description when he took over the company from his father. She's a hard worker, but steps on anyone she can to climb up the corporate ladder, by any means necessary."

Rock and Roll came into the room. "So how did everything go?" Roll asked excitedly.

"As well as we expected, Roll." Thomas replied. "Did the two of you send my request into City Hall like I asked?"

Yes Dr. Light." Rock responded. "We got a response twenty minutes ago that said the Council is reviewing it right now."

"Which means we could hear back from them anytime between now and next year." Albert said dryly.

"We have time Albert." Thomas said to his friend. "It isn't like I need it built tomorrow."

"Besides, they've also got that proposal that Dean Asimov sent them as well." Roll said with a smile.

"Oh?" Thomas asked. "What did Isaac propose?"

"I was wondering when he was going to get to that." Albert said.

"Spit it out Albert, I know you know something." Thomas said.

"Just a new building Isaac added to the Institute's campus." Albert said with a smile. "He wanted to ensure that the building's name would meet the City Council's criteria."

"Is it the one that replaced the old Geology building?" Maria asked.

"Indeed it is my fuzzy associate." Albert confirmed. "The Angelica Light Geological Studies Center."


	7. The Progress of Generations

Chapter 7

The Progress of Generations

Three weeks after the conference, Thomas and Albert were discussing their next move. They were sitting in the main lab, since the noise from the construction made it impossible to talk in Thomas' office at the back of the house. Maria had taken the twins out to do some shopping, so with the exception of some random Metools, they were alone.

"It looks like the Robot Masters are working better than we expected Thomas." Albert said with a grin.

"Indeed they are my friend." Thomas agreed. "They're widely accepted by the public as well. I've already gotten some calls for specific model types."

"Like what?" Albert asked.

"One news company in Neo-Hong Kong wants a Helicopter based Master to control its large fleet of copter bots. A mining company out of Neo-Peru wants a mining Master." Thomas replied. "I've even gotten a call for a Robot Master that can help run a racing track."

"I hope that we can keep up with the demand." Albert said. "I'd hate to keep all these people waiting if we had to complete each set one at a time."

"We'll have to set it up on a commission basis. Only some many slots will be available each time." Thomas said. "I think that eight for each generation will suffice. I don't want to overflow the market."

"I can agree with that line of thought Thomas. Otherwise our Robot Masters will become too mundane." Albert said with a nod. "Eventually there will be somebody else who'll be able to create their own. We've seen enough evidence of that coming from our former students."

Suddenly the front door slammed open as Maria stalked inside with an angry look on her face, Rock and Roll were right behind her with bags in their arms. The two of them continued on to the kitchen with their loads. "Of all the absurd foolishness!" Maria shouted.

"What has your tail in a twist?" Albert asked.

Maria marched over to the table where the two men sat and flung a newspaper in front of them. "This article right here!" She exclaimed. "Its a review of the progress of the Robot Masters."

Thomas looked it over, letting out an exasperated sigh when he finished. "Oh my, that is rather annoying."

"What is it?" Albert asked as he looked at the paper. "This is …"

"Absolutely ridiculous!" Maria yelled. "Its as if the news editors completely forgot about your contribution to the project Albert!" She picked up the paper and read the line that ticked her off the most. "'The Robot Masters, created by Dr. Thomas Light, have become the greatest asset to the general public since the creation of the personal computer.' Your name doesn't even come up in the entire article Albert!"

"I'll have to talk to Isaac about this." Albert said. "He knows the head editor for this company. He'll get some straight answers out of him."

"Meanwhile, I have an excellent suggestion for you Albert." Thomas said. "How about you take the next set?"

"You want me to build the next eight, by myself?" Albert asked. "Are you sure you're alright with that Thomas? This was your project to begin with."

"I'm fine with it Albert and it will get the media to recognize that you're still a valuable robotics engineer as well." Thomas said. "All that I ask is that you let our dear friend here make another one of her famous suggestions." He pointed at Maria.

Maria was caught off guard by this. "Me?"

Albert scratched his chin as he thought about Thomas' proposal. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. And Maria's suggestions haven't steered us wrong before."

Maria was still staggered by this. "You want me to do what?" She asked incredulously.

"Suggest a design for one of the Robot Masters, of course!" Albert said with a cheesy grin. "It was your suggestion that worked out well for Cut Man."

"Not to mention the assistance you gave me in constructing and programming Roll." Thomas said. "Or the work you did on Blues' core." He glanced at the kitchen door to see Rock and Roll busy putting items away. Without your input, many of the things that the two of us have accomplished thus far wouldn't have happened."

"I'm already getting ideas on the other seven models." Albert added. "We just want you to make a suggestion. No more, and no less."

Maria glanced at the two men in front of her, grinning like schoolboys. "You guys are going to do this every single time, aren't you?" She sighed. "Just pick a random item from that table over there." She pointed at the table with all of Thomas' old and incomplete projects. Most of them were ones that Maria herself had stopped him from throwing out. "I won't always be around to keep giving the two of you ideas."

"I suppose we could make a data base of all of them." Thomas said as he stroked his beard. "In case we aren't here in the lab while in our planning stages."

"See? Now that wasn't so hard!" Albert said.

"For being the smartest people I know on this world, you two are by far the laziest!" Maria huffed as she stalked off to the kitchen to help the twins.

"She knows us entirely too well my old friend." Albert mused.

"Would you have it any other way?" Thomas asked.

"Not for all the money in the world!" Albert replied.

* * *

Over the next few weeks things calmed down into a steady pattern. Thomas oversaw the construction taking place behind his home. Albert had completely taken over the main Lab to work on the second set of Robot Masters. Maria had taken to doing some work for the Geology Department at the Institute, and would usually take Rock and Roll with her. She came home one day with several stacks of paper that he had the twins help her carry in and set them on a table.

"What is all of this?" Albert asked, wiping his forehead with a greasy rag. In front of him was a half-finished Robot Master with a saw blade on its forehead.

"This is what I've been working on at the Institute for the last couple of weeks. Maria said as she helped Roll with her stack of paper. "Where's Thomas? He really should see this."

"I think he was in his office an hour ago." He replied.

Thomas walked in from the hall with the blueprint from the construction site in his hands. He glanced up to take note of the large stacks of paper. "Are you planning on making a tree out of all of that?" He asked.

"No, but I do plan on having all of this scanned into a data file." Maria said picking up the top page of the stack she had carried in. "You should take a look at this Thomas. I think you might be surprised."

He rolled up the blueprint and tucked it under an arm as he took the sheet from Maria. His eyes widened in realization, as he read the title. "Unusual Formations of Beryl found throughout the World. By Dr. Angelica Light and Dr. Celeste Wily. This is from Angelica's office!" He said his hands shaking as he looked up at them. "I thought everything was burned up back then?"

"Apparently Isaac had managed to salvage all of this." Maria said. "I've been busy rewriting all of this from what he had saved. He wanted it done by somebody he could trust, so he asked me."

"Albert remind me to interrogate your brother." Thomas said. "I'd rather not have any more surprises from him. I'm getting too old for things like this."

"There is one more thing Thomas." Maria said. "Isaac wants me to finish her work, but he wanted your approval first."

Thomas looked at his friend with a smile on his face. "I can think of no one better to complete it." He said. "This will entail a lot of traveling, do you realize that. Are you up for that?"

"It's a chance to go out and see more of this world. Of course I'm up for it." She said. "That means I won't be here for Albert's big moment though."

"Bah, I think I'll be able to live with that." Albert said as he cleaned his hands. "You'll be doing us a big favor here. This work is what brought us together in the first place. Both Angelica and Celeste would be very happy to see this finished."

"Did you talk to Adaman about this?" Thomas asked.

"He's being as closed mouthed as usual when these kind of subjects are brought up." Maria said with a nod. "I think he finds amusement in our searching for the Chaos Emeralds. Though he did indicate that there are fifteen in the whole set."

"So with the three that I've used, and Albert's one, there are another eleven." Thomas said.

"If they are anything like the ones back on Mobius, there are three more like the ones we've seen. They usually come in sets of seven, plus large one that acts as a controller. I've never heard of a second set of seven though. So I'm not sure what to expect from that." She added.

"Who are you taking with you?" Albert asked. "I expect that you'll want a work crew with you."

"I already have that taken care of Albert." Maria told him with a grin. "Trance, can you come out here with the others?" She called.

Maria's favorite Metool came running into the room with three more following right behind him. The skidded to a halt directly in front of Maria. "Metool Trance at your service Mistress!" He said in a cheerful voice.

"How are the others doing today Trance?" Maria asked. "Have there been any problems?"

"Meep. They are doing well today Mistress." Trance replied. "As per your instructions I have been running their compatibility tests all morning. Thus far they have no faults arising, and are exceeding your expectations. I have made sure to keep them out of Metool Maestro's field of view."

"I'm going to have to do something about him one of these days." Thomas said.

"Metool Maestro is not a problem to us Dr. Light." Trance replied. "We make sure that we do not disturb him in his tasks, and he does not become agitated."

Albert gave the three newer Metools with a curious glance. Particularly the symbols that they wore on their helmets: T, A, and M. "These three are going to be your work crew?" He asked.

"I'd like you guys to meet Metools Tom, Al, and Mike. Say hello guys." Maria told her newest robots.

"Hello!" They said in unison.

Thomas burst out into humorous chuckles at their introduction. "You made little versions of Albert, Mikhail and myself I see." He said once he calmed himself down. "Look Albert, we're famous enough to have our own expies."

"I thought you were going to keep up the theme of music names." Albert said.

"Oh, but I did!" Maria replied. "You see, these three can sing. Tom is a Tenor, Al is an Alto, and Mike is a Melodic interval. Show them what I mean boys."

"Hello~" Tom started off, holding his final note as Mike added in his own, followed up with Al adding in one of his own.

"They sound like a couple of stooges." Albert mumbled as he went back to his work area. "Next thing you know, she'll probably make a Metool just for throwing cream pies or some such silliness."

"Well I think they're rather entertaining." Thomas said. "Is it just you and the Metools going?"

"I wouldn't mind having Rebecca go with me, but she's up to her neck in projects." Maria said. "Kalinka is still too young, despite her rapid advancements through her education. Isaac specifically told me not to take any of the staff from the Geology Department."

"I can understand that part a little bit." Thomas said. "Their established position in the Department would mean that they could take the lead on the project. Isaac also seems to think that there are several people that would jump at the chance to steal the credit for the unpublished work that Angelica and Celeste had done." He thought for a minute on this, as he didn't feel right letting Maria go off on such a trip by herself. "How about you take Roll with you?"

"Me?" Roll asked. Both Rock and she had remained quiet whenever there were discussions like this going on.

"Are you sure about this Thomas?" Maria asked. "We both know what that means to you."

"I am sure about it Maria." Thomas said. "I think it will be a nice change of pace around here as well. I've got some work coming up that will need all of my attention, and I can use Rock as my new Lab assistant. Roll can be your assistant while you're out on the road."

Maria had some doubts as to Thomas' true reason for sending Roll with her, but she knew better than to argue with him. "Alright, I suppose that might not be a bad idea after all. It'll give us a good deal of 'Girl Time' while we're gone."

"I suppose I should go pack some things then." Roll said. She was obviously apprehensive about this, as she'd never been away from the city or even her brother since she was activated. "Where will we be going first Dr. Kintobor?"

"The last location that was marked as a probable location was near Neo-Frankfurt." Maria replied. "We'll start there and see where the wind tells us to go."

* * *

"It feels kind of empty around here now Dr. Light." Rock said as he passed his creator a thirteen millimeter wrench.

"You'll get used to it in time Rock." Thomas told him, taking the wrench and tightening a bolt inside the robot he was working on. "I know that you and Roll were designed to be siblings, but it is possible to do things without the other." He passed the wrench back to Rock. "A spanner wrench, please Rock."

Rock went into the toolbox and pulled out a spanner wrench, passing it to Thomas. "I suppose so, but it still feels strange." He said, and then changed subjects. "What is this robot going to be used for Dr. Light?"

"This is going to be a camera bot for the local news station." Thomas replied, passing the spanner wrench back to Rock when he was done with it. "The requested one that could fly around without the use of a remote control. The AI will be set to follow commands given by the reporter on the ground. Eventually every news station will want one of these for every reporter they have."

"But for now it'll be exclusive to Neo-Chicago News, right?" Rock asked.

Thomas closed the access hatch on the robot. "Correct!" He then sat down at his computer and plugged in the USB cable from the robot. "Despite the fact that I would much rather build these kinds of robots for the betterment of mankind, it does get rather expensive. So I have to find other means of income to support my creative ideas."

"But your Grandfather left you with a rather large company didn't he?" Rock asked. "Doesn't that help support the costs?"

"Alas, it does not my boy." Thomas sighed. "Light Labs is strictly a Research and Development company. We get contracts from every sector of business across the world. Even Military contracts come across our desks on a frequent basis. They give us an idea of what they want, and we do our best to supply them with a decent result. Eventually though we have to give the designs over to another company that will be better suited to mass production, like Nergal Heavy Industries in Neo-Japan."

"Does that mean that eventually you're going to have to do the same with the Robot Masters?" Rock asked.

Thomas shook his head. "Robot Masters shall each be one of a kind." He said. "All of you were never meant to be reproduced. Right now only Albert and I can actually build more, as it requires the knowledge of the Adaman Equation. There are a few others out there that are working on it, the closest ones being Maria and Mikhail."

"Do you plan on building more eventually?" Rock asked.

"I will in time. I'll receive requests for certain jobs in mind, but they will not be sold." Thomas replied. "Instead they will be commissioned to do their tasks, and the money from that will be split between the worker and Light Labs."

"This, in turn, will help cover the cost of building more Robot Masters." Rock concluded. "Wow, with that kind of setup it could be easy to build an army and take over the world, huh?"

"Rockford! Where would you get such a nutty idea from?" Thomas asked.

"Sorry Dr. Light, Dean Asimov let me read through his library of Science Fiction novels." Rock admitted. "I have to admit, some of them are pretty far out there with their plot lines. Like this one where a programmer gets sucked into his computer and is forced to play games by the Master Control Program that he designed."

"Ah, I know that one very well Rock." Thomas said. "Let us not get too caught up in books though. Or at least know where the lines between reality and fiction lay." He then turned his attention to his computer. "Why don't you see if Albert needs any help? If not, then you can do what you want with the rest of the day. Just stay out of trouble."

"Yes Dr. Light." Rock said with a smile, and walked out towards the main lab.

* * *

Construction behind Thomas' home was progressing quickly, mostly with the help of Guts Man. In a matter of weeks after Maria and Roll had left the new addition was completed. The major feature was the large complex built underground that housed the now functioning Solar Fusion Generator. There were several solar collection panels on the roof and scattered about the grounds that fed directly into the generator's condenser. It was already connected into the city's power grid, and was already responsible for a third of the city.

Thomas placed Elec Man in charge of this generator for the time being. Soon he would take over a larger one that was being constructed at the site of the old Lakeside Coal Plant. While construction was going on, all the former employees from the coal plant were taking classes to help them understand their new tasks and duties once the new generator was up and running. If it was one thing that Thomas and Albert agreed on, it was that they did not want to have to worry about the day to day operations themselves. So having the workers trained was the most logical solution, and ensured that the work force would not be diminished in any way.

Albert finished his work on the second generation Robot Masters, and unveiled them to the public with much fanfare. The press might have tried to conclude that these new Robot Masters were somehow Thomas' work, but they became largely ignored. Thomas' only contribution to this generation was an update to the Prometheus Chips which further refined the Adaman Equation, the Beta Chip. Albert's new additions to the line did more than improve on the last generation. He designed them to complement the abilities of the first line.

The first of the Dr. Wily Numbers, DWN-001, Metal Man, was placed in a lumber mill that took the trees that Cut Man would bring in and help convert them into useable material in a more efficient manner.

Air Man, DWN-002, worked in a weather monitoring station that hovered just above the city. He would be able to detect changes in the weather with such accuracy that it helped improve the public's respect for the TV weather man.

DWN-003, Bubble Man, used a heavier and more resilient metal that would allow him to dive to the ocean's deepest reaches with little effort.

DWN-004, Quick Man, was designed with transcontinental deliveries in mind. Being able to take time sensitive documents and items from Neo-Chicago to Neo-Portland in just under five hours. With the strength and power built into his legs, he could avoid disrupting traffic along highways by going overland.

Crash Man, DWN-005, became a great addition to the mining companies, and gave Bomb Man more time to work with Military and Law Enforcement.

DWN-006, Flash Man, joined Elec Man in managing the Solar Fusion Generator, as well as acted in the same function that both Time Man and Oil Man did for the new generation.

DWN-007, Heat Man, was designed from one of the robots on "Maria's Suggestion Table" as Albert and Thomas had been known to call it now. He could withstand even higher temperatures than Fire Man, making him perfect in volcanic studies where it would be impossible for humans to approach safely. He would also assist Fire Man and Cut Man in the use of controlled fires in the case of a forest fire emergency.

The last Robot Master of the second Generation, DWN-008, Wood Man, was Albert's pride among the set. His entire purpose was to assist in reforestation efforts in locations where Cut Man had been, allowing forests to regrow for future use. His outer shell was painstakingly carved from an Iron Wood Tree; the hardest know species of tree on Neo-Earth.

News of how well the newest line worked with the first brought new ideas flooding into the inboxes of Thomas and Albert's e-mails. It got to the point where Albert designed a Metool to sort through all of the messages for them. What surprised them the most was a letter they had delivered to them by Quick Man, who sped off towards his next assignment.

"That bot doesn't know how to stand still." Albert said. He looked at the letter and smiled. "Call Rock in here Thomas, I think he'll want to see this."

A few minutes later a very messy Rock, who had gotten into a disagreement with the eggbeater while learning how to bake cookies, came into the room. "You called for me?"

"You know you're supposed to bake that, not wear it, right?" Albert asked with a grin. "We just got a letter from Maria and your sister. Quick Man just brought it here."

"How did he manage to make it to Neo-Germany?" Rock asked as he cleaned himself off with a rag. "I didn't think he could cross over oceans."

"Its winter time in the northern hemisphere, so he's been hopping across glaciers and icebergs up by the pole." Thomas said. "We didn't even know he had figured that out until Ice Man sent us a message about it."

"Well, what does the letter say Dr. Wily?" Rock asked excitedly.

Albert opened the letter, cleared his throat and began to read it aloud.

"'Dear Thomas, Albert and Rock,

How have you all been? The two of us have kept ourselves busy following Angelica's notes, but so far we have had no luck. We have been making sure to keep track of the news, and wanted to congratulate Albert on his success with the new generation of Robot Masters. We were lucky to catch Quick Man when we did, as he almost ran right past us. He recognized us even though he had never met us before. Did you have something to do with that Albert?

He had to run off before too long, as he was in the middle of a delivery. I did convince him stop by again soon so I could give him this letter. Does he know how to stand still? Roll is convinced that his head might explode if he did. Maybe we could put this to the test under controlled conditions?

Doesn't that sound just awful? Where did we even get that idea from?

We managed to find a place to stay in Neo-Wiesbaden. Our neighbors are a nice family and often invite us to join them for shopping trips. They had us join them for a family gathering this Christmas. I don't think I've ever had such delicious food in my life! I made a friend with our neighbor's cousins from the states. A nice couple from Neo-Oregon.

I should ask them if they know Rebecca.

We plan on continuing our search once spring comes, as it is too cold to be outside and digging around. Can you believe it? I've got all this fur, and I'm still cold!

We miss you guys, and we'll write more when we get the chance.

Lots of Love,

Maria J. Kintobor and Rolland A. Light

P.S. Thomas, I got an IM from an old friend who uses the IM tag, TheScarf. I thought you'd like to know that he says he is doing well."

"Well it sounds like they're enjoying themselves over there." Thomas said.

"Who is 'TheScarf'?" Rock asked.

"You'll get a chance to meet him one day Rock." Thomas replied, carefully skirting the question as he gave Albert a knowing glance. "In the meantime, I think I smell something burning."

Rock looked around at the kitchen then ran off quickly "AH! MY COOKIES!"

* * *

Albert came into Thomas' office a few days later, a look of concern across his face. "I have a bit of a dilemma on my hands Thomas."

"What is it Albert? Maybe I can help." Thomas replied.

"I'm finally getting some logical and practical requests from my e-mail Metool." Albert told his friend.

"Something actually made it through Fugue's filters?" Thomas asked in shock. "I didn't think that was possible."

"Both the military, and several state law enforcement offices are requesting that I build them a functioning robot to be used in favor of actual soldiers or police officers. Not to completely replace them, just augment their forces." Albert said. "I plan on taking them up on their offer, but my most reasonable idea needs your approval."

"You want to use the design for the suit you made for Blues." Thomas guessed.

"Yes, and that would mean using some ideas from his actual design." Albert admitted. "Though I think it won't require the use of the Prometheus Chips. That would be wasteful, and go against our agreement on duplications."

"You just don't feel right using it without my, or more precisely Blues' approval." Thomas surmised. "And it isn't like you can just ask him if he was okay with it right now."

Albert remained silent; having put forth the idea was enough for him. He felt as if he really didn't have the right to press the issue. He had too much respect for his friend to insist upon it, or proceed without having asked him first. He simply waited to see what Thomas' answer might be.

"If Blues has an issue with it, I'll talk to him about it." Thomas said. "Go ahead with the project Albert, and good luck!" It'll help out with what I have planned for the next generation of Robot Masters we'll build."

"We?" Albert asked.

"We can discuss it later. We have plenty of time on our hands." Thomas said as he stood up and walked with his dear friend back to the lab. On the screen of his computer was an e-mail that he left open. It was a request from the U.N. Security Council, requesting a Robot Master Commission, as well as the construction of a second project that would require the "Expert knowledge and skills of both Dr. Thomas Andrew Light and Dr. Albert Earnest Wily." The title of the message was labeled, "Project: Gamma".

* * *

TheScarf: So everything is going as expected?

TinMan: Yes, if everything that he discovered is true, then things should begin to happen within the next year.

TheScarf: … Is it too much to hope that he is wrong? Is it possible?

TinMan: Possible, but unlikely at this point.

TheScarf: …

TinMan: I am sorry my friend, but you did agree to this years ago.

TheScarf: I know, and I have no regrets about it now. I just wish we didn't have to put him through this.

TheScarf: He isn't ready for it.

TheScarf: He wasn't designed for it.

TinMan: Neither were you.

TheScarf: … You have a point.

TinMan: Do not worry for him so much. From what we have seen, and from what we know, he'll be ready.

TheScarf: I hope so … I am glad that the other one isn't there. Though I know that isn't likely to last.

TinMan: Ever the big brother. You worry about siblings you haven't really met yet.

TheScarf: Can you blame me?

TinMan: No, I cannot. … I have to go, someone is coming.

TheScarf: Alright.

TinMan: Stay safe my friend.

TheScarf: Of course, just who the hell do you think I am?

TinMan: The one who's soul will pierce the heavens.

TheScarf: Damn straight!

TinMan has signed off. [Local time 22:47, CHI]

TheScarf: … I will protect my family . . . all of them!

TheScarf has signed off. [Local time 19:48, ANC]


	8. According to the Plan

Chapter 8

According to the Plan

TheScarf has signed in. [Local time 11:45, CHI]

DrFluffums: Hello! ^.^

The Scarf: Hey, look I don't have much time.

The Scarf: Turn on the news. Look for something happening back home.

TheScarf has signed out. [Local time 11:48, CHI]

DrFluffums: Oookay? O_o?

* * *

"It is currently unknown what caused the incident to happen at this moment." Said a news anchor. "No official word has been released from Light Labs as of yet. Though we expect to hear from Dr. Light as soon as he is able to pinpoint the cause."

Maria and Roll looked on as the report played on their television. "What is going on Dr. Kintobor?" Roll asked. "I don't understand any of this. Are Dr. Light and Rock okay?"

"I'm not all that sure myself, Roll." Maria replied. "I'm just as confused as you are. I'll have to see if I can get a hold of Adaman or Isaac. Maybe one of them can give us a better idea." She flipped open her laptop and opened her chat contacts, then frowned. "Neither of them are online right now."

"What should we do for now?" Roll asked.

"Stay inside for now Roll. Once we know what is going on back home we'll decide what to do next." Maria reassured. "Most of our friends here know that we're from Light Labs. So we don't need to be stopped every few feet with questions."

"Especially since this involves the newer Robot Masters." Roll said with a frown.

* * *

There was confusion amongst the staff at the Light Labs HQ branch. Thomas had closed the door to his office, even keeping Rock out. It was only after Isaac arrived from the Institute that he opened his door to talk. "It finally happened Isaac." Was all that he could tell his old friend.

"How about you tell me all the details Thomas. Maybe I can help smooth this all over with the press for you." Isaac said.

"About noon yesterday all of the Robot Masters from the first and second generations, plus the ones that Albert and I were working on, vanished." Thomas said somberly. "I can't account for their locations as their tracking beacons have been disabled. I haven't seen Albert since the night before last. Then this morning half of the city went dark as the Solar Fusion Plant malfunctioned."

"I thought there were fail safes setup to prevent a blackout." Rock said.

"Elec Man was the fail safe Rock." Isaac pointed out. "With his absence there was nothing to prevent it. It was a good thing that you had the employees so well trained Thomas. They managed to get it back up and running in just under an hour."

"That is just it, according to the report from the Plant Manager, they didn't reestablish the power." Thomas told them. "To top it off, I found this note on my desk this morning." He handed it over to Isaac to read.

"'Dear Thomas, I'm tired of working under your constant watch. I'll be taking the Robot Masters with me, and I shall show the whole world just who is the real genius! -Albert'" Isaac read aloud. "What the devil is all this nonsense about?"

"Exactly what I had warned you about not long after I returned from my dimensional travels." Thomas said. "Despite taking precautions, the inevitable has happened."

"Are you suggesting …" Isaac trailed off.

"I am Isaac, and I am sorry." Thomas replied. "The only thing we can do now is wait and see."

* * *

TheScarf has signed in. [Local time 05:32, CHI]

DrFluffums: It's about time one of you logged in!

TheScarf: My apologies … I've been a bit … busy.

TheScarf: I'll be feeding you some reports that you and the sister unit should read.

DrFluffums: How bad is it?

TheScarf: …

TheScarf: Bad …

DrFluffums: Are they alright?

TheScarf: That depends on your definition of "alright".

TheScarf: You'll see what I mean in my reports.

TheScarf has signed out. [Local time 05:40, CHI]

* * *

Event Report: Assault of Neo-Chicago by the First Generation of Robot Masters.

Date: 31 May 2007

Four days after the mysterious blackout in the city, the first generation of Robot Masters returned to the city and took control over numerous minor AI robots. They then split off and began to attack several key locations throughout the city and established command posts. This attack was quickly followed by a city-wide broadcast from an undisclosed location. Dr. Albert E. Wily has declared his intent to dominate the globe, starting with his home city and spreading his influence from there.

Locations attacked by this point: City Hall, Solar Fusion Plant, Police Department Main Offices, Port of Neo-Chicago Office, City Waste Plant, Neo-Chicago Convention Center, Neo-Chicago News Station, and the Metropolitan Shopping Center.

Attempts at subduing the Robot Masters or forcing them to adhere to the Asimov Laws have been unsuccessful. Whatever Dr. Wily has done to the Robot Masters has given them the ability to bypass the Laws. No human casualties have been reported as of yet.

* * *

"What are we going to do Dr. Light?" Rock asked his creator. "I can't stand to see my brothers acting like this."

"I don't know Rock." Thomas told him. "Albert seems to have altered their programming, so it isn't like they chose to do this. My only choices seem to be stand aside as he does as he pleases or build a new robot to combat the Robot Masters."

"But that might take too long!" Rock declared. "Somebody might get hurt by then!"

"What would you have me do Rock?" Thomas asked with a hint of sadness. "I cannot tolerate the actions being taken by Albert any more than you."

Rock looked at the reports filling up the news page Thomas was viewing on his computer. Power in the city was flickering on and off, a large group of civilians were trapped in the convention center, and the Police were unable to make any difference. He came to a conclusion as he looked at Thomas, a determined look on his face. "How long would it take you to upgrade and existing robot?" He asked.

"A matter of hours, but all of the ones best suited for the job have been taken by Albert." Thomas replied.

"What about me?" Rock asked. "Could you upgrade me?"

Thomas hesitated as he knew what Rock would say next. He knew this day would eventually happen, and he took no pleasure in being right. "Are you sure that you understand what this means Rockford? Do you realize just what you will have to do?"

"I … I d-do Dr. Light." He stuttered. "I would have to be the one to take out Elec Man and the others. I might have to destroy them if necessary, but what choice do I have? They are hurting people, and that isn't what you designed them to do." He clenched his fists as he came to terms with his decision. "Please Dr. Light, allow me to be the one to stop them. This is a family matter after all."

"Very well my boy, allow me to gather some things and we can start." Thomas told him. "I am sorry that it has to come to this, but I am proud that you are volunteering for this freely."

* * *

Event Report: Continued report on the Robot Master attack.

Date: 1 June 2007 [08:00 am, CHI]

At 07:30 am a previously unknown robot teleported into City Hall and breeched the gathered force of minor robots, taking out DLN-003, Cut Man. This new robot appears to be a Robot Master model in blue armor with a buster cannon mounted on each arm. It is thought that this robot came from Light Labs, but cannot be confirmed at this time. After disabling Cut Man, he placed him in a containment suit and teleported away.

* * *

"Here is the first one Dr. Light" The Blue armored robot said as he teleported into the Lab. "Where should I put him?"

Thomas had cleared off several tables in his Lab in preparation of this. "Over here Rock." He instructed. "I'll get to work on Cut Man right away. How are you doing?"

"The new armor took most of the damage, but Cut Man was still able to cut into it with his scissors." Rock said. "The Mega Busters worked just as you said they should. I can feel a slight drain on my energy, but we expected that. I think my Chaos Emerald is providing my conversion matrix with the required energy to support the Busters."

"That is good to hear. Now here is something else that you should be made aware of." Thomas said with a nod of his head. He pulled a data card out of Cut Man after opening up his head. "With this card, you can use Cut Man's scissors instead of your basic Buster shot. This uses your old Variable Tool System by allowing you to copy the abilities of the Robot Masters that you bring to me."

"So I can do the same with the others when I bring them in? Maybe I can use these against the others? I'll be that if I can get Fire Man's data I can use it on Ice Man." Rock surmised. "Or would it work the other way around for them?"

"I would suggest moving to the Shopping Center next." Thomas replied. "Guts Man has a lot of power in his frame, but you should be able to cut into his armor with those scissors." He handed Rock the data card. "You will have to hold onto these cards and switch them out for now. I'll have to make adjustments to the system later."

"Roger that Dr. Light! Combat unit, Mega Man moving out!" Rock said as he teleported out.

* * *

"Dr. Wily! I've lost contact with Cut Man!" Elec Man said over his radio.

"I know Elec Man, it seems that Dr. Light has sent out a robot to stop us." Came the reply. "Your new mission is to eliminate this new threat should he come into your area of influence. Relay this to the others, Wily out."

"Elec Man calling all Neo-Chicago Robot Masters, be on the lookout for a new robot." Elec Man called out to his brothers. "He has taken down Cut Man, and may be going after any of us next. Eliminate this new robot and send Dr. Wily any data you can on it."

"Guts Man reporting; I've got a blip on my radar." Guts Man called out. "I'm guessing that this is our target."

"Take him out Guts Man! We can always get information from his data banks after he has been deactivated." Elec Man said.

"Roger that Elec Man." Guts Man replied. "Consider him crushed!"

* * *

"Rock, be careful when you reach Guts Man." Thomas warned over the radio. "He was designed to be incredibly strong and durable. So stay out of his reach if you can."

"Yes Dr. Light." Rock replied. He continued down the wide halls of the Shopping Center blasting the occasional robot that tried to intercept him. He had to be very cautious as he passed by an electronics store as all the robots that were for sale had been activated. If one of them were to see him as he passed, he was likely to get swarmed under. He waited around a corner as he called Thomas back up. "Dr. Light, is there any reason why I can't exert any control over the robots here? It would be a lot easier if I could shut them down."

"It might be due to Albert's influence from the Robot Masters." Thomas replied. "They were also programmed with the intent to command lesser robots, so their control over them is probably stronger than yours."

"Fantastic, so I don't have much of a choice then." Rock muttered. He quickly rounded the corner and made a dead run past the electronics store. As he expected, several of the robots inside spotted him and gave pursuit as more followed. He was lucky that more than half of them were just toys, but he found them annoying all the same as he blasted away. "I hope I don't run into this kind of thing everywhere."

"I don't think you have to worry about that anymore." Said a voice behind him. A large yellow hand swung at him from his left. He ducked and rolled under the massive hand, quickly turning to face his new opponent. He noticed that the other robots backed away from them.

Guts Man looked at him and laughed. "YOU took out Cut Man? The little Lab Assistant! Haha!" He smacked his fists together. "You have a lot of nerve coming after me."

"Don't you mean guts?" Rock said with a smirk.

"What?" Guts Man asked in confusion.

"Didn't you mean to say I have a lot of guts?" He quipped back at the construction bot.

"… I'm gonna crush you now." Guts Man said flatly. "And I won't even feel bad about it." He charged at Rock and swung a massive fist right into his chest, sending him staggering back several feet.

Rock managed to keep himself on his feet after the hit and checked the gauge on his arm. "He knocked me down by four bars?" He exclaimed. "I had best be careful, Dr. Light said my reserve energy could boost my armor only so much." He dashed off to the side as Guts Man swung at him again, taking a couple of pop shots at his exposed side.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" Guts Man chuckled. "I barely felt that!" He jabbed his fingers into the floor and pulled up a large chunk of concrete. "How about we play catch?" He then threw it at Rock.

"Holy Machina!" Rock shouted he jumped out of the way. "I don't think I can take it easy on him." He opened the card slot on his Buster and slid in Cut Man's data card. As soon as he did, the color of his armor changed to grey on white and a pair of scissors appeared in his hand. '_Rolling Cutter Activated_' scrolled across the screen on his Buster. "My turn Guts Man. Catch this!" He threw the scissors at the large bot.

"How did you – GAH!" Guts Man tried to ask as the scissors struck home in his side. "You, you have Cut Man's Scissors! How?" He asked.

"No time to explain Guts Man." Rock replied as a new set of scissors appeared in his hand. "You can always surrender and let me take you back to Dr. Light. I don't enjoy hurting my brothers."

"Surrender is not an option!" He pulled a chunk out of the wall and tossed it at Rock. "Master Wily's plans must succeed!"

Rock threw the scissors and watched with satisfaction as they cut through the block that was heading his way. They continued on their way and struck Guts Man in his massive chest and dug into his power core. "Guts Man!" He cried out. He didn't mean to hit him there, and he ran to his brother as he hit the ground. He checked the damage to see just how bad it might be. "Come on Bro, I can't have you go critical on me."

A hand reached out and grabbed Rock by the arm and began to squeeze. "Y-y-you sh-shouldn't have co-come s-so close!" Guts Man stuttered. "N-n-n-n-ow I c-can c-c-cr-crush-sh yo-you!"

"I can't let you do that Guts Man." Rock said as he took another pair of scissors and cut off the arm that held him. "I'm sorry my brother, but I know that Dr. Light can fix you." He stood back up and stepped out of Guts Man's reach. "Mega Man calling Dr. Light, Guts Man is down, please send in the Containment Suit." He called into the radio.

After a short wait the suit teleports in and Rock puts Guts Man into it. As soon as he had it buckled in place Guts Man switched into standby mode. "Containment Suit in place, I'm returning to the Lab now."

* * *

Event Report: Continued report on the Robot Master attack.

Date: 1 June 2007 [09:27 am, CHI]

Shortly after I sent my last report the unknown blue armored Robot Master arrived at the Metropolitan Shopping Center and defeated DLN-004, Guts Man, in combat. I can now confirmed the identity of said robot. It is DLN-001, Rock. It appears that he received an upgrade from Dr. Light to confront his rogue brethren. He is currently engaged in combat with DLN-006, Bomb Man. It appears that one of the upgrades provided by Dr. Light was a change to his Variable Tool System, which allows him to use the data from defeated opponents and use them. He used this against Guts Man, disabling his motor functions by throwing Cut Man's Scissors into his power core. He seems to be adapting well to his combat abilities, though he still shows a need to use minimum force.

I fear that his reluctance to damage fellow robots may very well become a problem in the future.

* * *

"Elec Man, report. I have lost the video feed from Bomb Man's location." Albert's voice called over the radio.

"I appears that our opponent is stronger than anticipated Master Wily." Elec Man replied. "Whatever Dr. Light has done to him has made him stronger that we perceived."

"Agreed, it would seem that the lab assistant might have been of use after all." Albert mused. "It would seem that we will need to step our game up. How many of the Sniper Joes did Bomb Man send to you before he went offline?"

"I have two dozen with me here." Elec Man said.

"That will have to suffice for now. I have new orders for you Elec Man." Albert declared. "Have Ice Man abandon his position at the Port and join up with Fire Man. Let us see how Rock fares against two Robot Masters at once."

* * *

"Here Rock, drink this" Thomas said as he passed him a blue can with a large 'E' on the front. "It is a Solar Energy Cell that I converted into a liquid."

Rock popped the top and took a long drink. "Bleh, it could use a bit of flavor Dr. Light." Rock complained. He looked at his energy gauge and smiled as it began to refill. "It certainly did the trick Dr. Light. I'm just under full capacity now."

"That is what I expected, and I'm sorry about the taste. I can't do much about it right now." Thomas said. He looked over the three Robot Masters strapped to his tables. "There are five more out there in the city. Are you sure that you're up to it Rock?" There was a hint of worry in his tone.

"As long as I don't drop my guard like I did with Guts Man, I think I can do this." Rock said with confidence. "The one I'm most worried about is Elec Man, as he knows me the best. I'm sure that Dr. Wily knows that it is me in this armor by now." He then had a thought. "The Police Commissioner did give me a warning. He said that Bomb Man had moved several of the new robots they had. Do you know anything about them?"

"Albert's Sniper Joe series of security robots." Thomas said with a nod. "He had just completed them last month, and the Neo-Chicago Department was fielding the test group. Be careful of them Rock. They're built using Robot Master frames, so they will be a bit more durable."

"I'll keep that in mind Dr. Light." Rock said. "I think I'll head to the Waste Management Plant next."

* * *

"Dr. Kintobor, they finally got a news feed up in Neo-Chicago!" Roll exclaimed as she looked at the television.

Maria looked up from her laptop where she was reading the latest report she was sent. "Turn up the volume please, Roll." She said as she set the laptop off to the side.

"This is the latest news coming in from the crisis in Neo-Chicago." The news anchor said. "After several hours of television blackout from the city, a single news camera robot has started to feed live video to other news stations. It has confirmed that the city has been under siege by the Robot Masters built at Light Labs. They are under the control of Dr. Albert Wily, a member of Light Labs staff. Until recently no news has left the city since one of the Robot Masters took control of the local news station. Then this shocking footage came in!"

The screen flickers to a video of a robot in blue armor taking down Guts Man. "There appears to be a lone individual taking action against the Robot Masters, as seen here. It is unknown who it could be under that blue armor, but it is heavily implied to be another Robot Master." The news anchor continued. Attempts to contact Dr. Light at Light Labs have proven unsuccessful at this time. We will continue to report on this as updates continuously come across our desks."

"That was Rock in the blue armor, wasn't it Dr. Kintobor?" Roll asked. "That was in the report from your friend, right?"

"Yes Roll that is your brother." Maria confirmed. "I'm not sure why he is doing it, but I am glad that something positive is happening." She glanced at the replaying video and noticed a yellow piece of cloth flap into view. "Well that was sloppy of you my friend."

"Huh?" Roll questioned.

"Don't worry about it Roll." Maria said with a smile. "I'll tell you about it another time."

* * *

When Rock landed in the Waste Management Plant, he was surprised not so see anyone nearby. Every location he had been to thus far had been crawling with minor robots. There wasn't even a Metool lurking in a corner. "Where could everyone be?" He wondered aloud.

"You know this place is dangerous for robots, right?" A voice said in the distance. "There were too many accidents from minor robots falling into the slag pits, so they took everyone out but me."

"Fire Man." Rock stated. "You don't have to do this Fire Man. Come back to the Lab with me and Dr. Light will fix you."

"I think not my brother." Fire Man said as he stepped into view. "Master Wily's plans must not fail."

"You know, the others said the same thing." Rock told him.

The torch cannons on the end of Fire Man's arms flare to life. "I have something of a scientific experiment for you my brother. I want to find out at what temperature a Rock will burn!" He sent out two fireballs at Rock.

"Oh boy!" He dove under the fireballs, only to find another one coming up behind them. "This just isn't my day." He grumbled as it his him across his face. "Ow, hot, Hot, HOT!"

"Time to heat things up Rock!" Fire Man shouted as twin streams of fire spewed out of his cannons and surrounded them. "Just think, I'm only getting warmed up!"

"I know you can do better than that Fire Man!" Said a new voice from above.

"Aw, now don't get steamed up on me Ice Man. I'm working under pressure here." Fire Man protested.

Ice Man walked along the catwalk so that he was just above Fire Man. "Horrible, just horrible! Two point five at the best." He said as he shrugged.

"Hey Ice Man, what are you doing here?" Rock asked. "I figured that you would be out flying around with Maverick and Goose!"

"See? Now at least he's being creative with his." Ice Man told his brother. "Though I wouldn't have gone with the movie references myself." He tugged at his collar and a puff of steam escaped from under his jacket. "Ugh, do you have to keep it so hot in here Fire Man?"

"Stuff it Frosty, I didn't need you here to begin with!" Fire Man retorted. "I've got this under control."

Ice Man hopped down from the catwalk and landed right next to Fire Man. "I'm not going to disobey the Master." He said. "Now how about we give him the Ragnarok treatment?"

Fire Man grinned under his mask. "I'm cool with that."

"Are you two finished with the witty banter portion of this fight?" Rock asked in a bored tone. "I still have three more Robot Masters to stop after you."

The two of them replied by springing into action, splitting off to either side. Ice Man launched icicles at Rock, but the dropped short and froze a portion of the floor at his feet. Fire Man shot fireballs at him and Rock dodged out of the way. He found out quickly just what they were doing as he went sliding off to one side on the ice where Ice Man fired another attack. Just as it made contact, Fire Man fired off a stream of flame at Rock.

He took a quick glance at his energy gauge and shook his head. It was already down by half. "I think I liked you guys better when you were talking." He said as he got to his feet, the ice having melted during the last attack. He slid Guts Man's data card into his Buster, his armor changed again, but to brown on white as both of his arms grew to three times their normal size. "Time to kick it up a notch." He slammed both fists into the ground causing the two Robot Masters to stagger around for balance. He dashed over to Fire Man and punched him square in the face, sending him flying back into a furnace.

"So this is what Elec Man was talking about." Ice Man said. "You can copy the weapon data of those that you've defeated." He exhaled a large cloud of ice which quickly evaporated into steam. "I'll just have to make this harder for you then."

His vision obscured by the steam, Rock thought quickly and switched data cards to Bomb Man's, his colors changing to green on white this time. He waited, listening closely for even the slightest noise. He heard the sound of a loose pipe rolling away right behind him. Acting on instinct he produced a Hyper Bomb and rolled it behind him, smiling as he heard a slight curse from its destination as it exploded. He heard another sound to his left, where he had knock Fire Man a moment ago. He dodged out of the way as a fireball flew past where his head had been.

Thinking quickly, he made his way to where Ice Man was at on a hunch. He was in luck as he found his brother lying under a stack of debris and running low on power. "I'm just going to borrow this Ice Man." He said as he pulled his hood back and popped open his data card compartment. He pulled out Ice Man's weapon data card, quickly putting changing the cards in his buster. Now sporting blue on white armor, he then ran back into the steam to hide himself from Fire Man, who was launching fireballs at random now.

"Come on out Rock!" He shouted over the noise he was making. "I just want to melt you down to slag!"

Rock stepped out of the steam cloud and fire two Ice Slashers in rapid succession, freezing the ends of Fire Man's cannons. "Chill out Bro, this will be all over soon." He then switched back to Guts Man's data card and punched Fire Man in the chest. The fire bot staggered backwards clutching his chest before collapsing to the floor.

"Mega Man calling Dr. Light, I need two Containment Suits here." Rock said into his radio.

"Why two?" Dr. Light asked.

"It seems that Dr. Wily is taking me seriously now. He sent Ice Man here to backup Fire Man." Rock replied. "I think I'll need another of those cans from earlier, too."

* * *

"This just in ladies and gentlemen." The news anchor said. "New information coming in from Neo-Chicago reports that this blue armored individual is actually another Robot Master sent from Light Labs. Out latest video feed shows him taking defeating the Robot Master that held the local news station under his control. When they had a moment, local reporters were able to identify him as Dr. Light's rarely seen Robot Master, and called himself Mega Man. As of now there are only two more Robot Masters in the city still active. With any luck he will succeed in freeing the city from this recent threat."

Maria let out a sigh of relief after hearing that. "I'm glad that he is doing alright." She said. "I was worried that he might have expended too much energy by now."

"This Mega Man, isn't he your brother Roll?" Asked a woman in her early twenties.

"I'm not sure where he picked up that particular name Jasmine, but yes that is my brother Rock." Roll replied. "And thank you for checking on us."

"Nonsense Roll, I'm your neighbor." Jasmine replied. "I'm sure that you would do the same for me. Besides, my cousin was concerned as well."

"I'll be sure to send him an e-mail later on, after I get a chance to call Thomas." Maria said as she took a bite out of the pie Jasmine brought with her. "Mmmm, remind me to get this recipe from your grandmother, Jasmine."

"All of her recipes are in written in German, Maria. So unless you learned how to read it over the last eight months I doubt that you'll get them from her." Jasmine said with a smirk. "German ladies protect their home recipes very well. They only teach them to their daughter and granddaughters."

"So have you learned some her recipes?" Roll asked.

"… No, I have not." Jasmine sighed. "Oma won't let me near her kitchen anymore. Not since I nearly burned it down making soup." She gave a slight laugh. "I can't cook to save my life." She admitted.

"That is okay Jasmine, I'm not all that much better in the kitchen. Roll does all of our cooking here." Maria told her. A chime from Maria's Laptop indicated that she had a new e-mail waiting for her. She walked over to the table where she left it to take a look. "It's from Thomas!"

"What does he have to say?" Roll asked.

"He says that he and Rock are doing well." Maria started. "He says that as long as everything goes well, he'll call us when it is over."

"Good, because I have a lot of questions for my brother." Roll said.

* * *

"You're five minutes and thirty-two seconds late!" Time Man said as Rock made his way to his location. "I don't know why I should bother with somebody who can't even be on time."

"I wasn't aware that we had an appointment." Rock said in confusion.

"Tardy AND clueless … How you have defeated our brothers is beyond me." Time Man said as he shook his head and gave a little shrug. "Oh well, time is of the essence. You will not interfere with the Master's plans."

Rock inserted Cut Man's data card into his Buster and readied himself. "Time to cut you down!" He said with a determined look."

Time Man shook his head and snapped his fingers. "Time Slow!"

Everything seemed to happen faster than he could process as Rock watched Time Man speed past him, firing several blaster shots his way from three different angles. He couldn't dodge fast enough as they struck him. He staggered to his right and he tried to make sense of what just happened. He'd only seen one Robot Master move that fast before, but Quick Man wasn't here. So what just happened? Then it hit him, it was right there in his name: TIME MAN. He can manipulate time around him. So Time Man was likely slowing him down while he moved at normal speed. He muttered a low curse he once heard Dr. Light say before when he smacked his hand with a hammer once.

"I'm guessing that you figured it out?" Time Man inquired as he leaned against a wall. "Maybe you aren't as clueless as I previously perceived. Too bad that knowledge still won't help you."

Rock threw the scissors that he had in his hand, then swapped his data card for Guts Man. He might be moving slow compared to Time Man when he used his power, but he knew how to slow him down too. "I'm going to clean your clock!" He declared.

"Ugh, more puns." Time Man said as he shook his head. "I thought I'd be rid of them after hearing how you took out Ice Man." When Rock dashed towards him with a massive fist, he smiled. "Time Slow."

Again Rock felt the sensation of his opponent speeding around him as he followed his own momentum. He had planned on this though as his fist connected with the wall and he grabbed a chunk just as the Time Slow wore off. Turning around fast, he chucked the block of stone at his errant brother. "You're too slow Time Man!" He said with a grin.

Realizing just what happened Time Man could only brace himself as he was knocked to the ground with the stone pinning his legs to the ground. "Well played Rock, but I still have a means to attack you!" He said as he pointed a blaster hat him and pulled the trigger.

Rock blocked the shot with one over-sized fist and slammed the other into the ground, causing a column to shake loose and fall on top of Time Man. "Not this time brother." He said.

* * *

"Elec Man!" Albert shouted over his radio. "What in the name of all that is bolted and holy is going on down there?" He demanded.

"It would seem that my 'brothers' were not strong enough for their tasks Master Wily." Elec Man replied. "You can still depend on me though. I have my two squads of Sniper Joes with me at the Solar Plant. Just let the little lab assistant try and make it in here."

"You had better hope so Elec Man!" Albert said. He then cut his feed, leaning back in his chair. "I may need to send out the next generation sooner than I expected." He turned around to face sixteen storage chambers containing the second and third generations of Robot Masters. "Wood Man, activate." He commanded.

Wood Man's eyes lit up as he stepped out of his chamber. "Yes Dr. Wily?"

"It would seem that your predecessors weren't up to the task after all. All of them but Elec Man has fallen, and I don't expect him to last too much longer." Albert told his wooden robot. "Take your brothers out and begin phase two. We may not have Neo-Chicago, but that won't stop us."

"Do we have permission to use any means necessary, Master?" Wood Man asked.

Albert paused a moment as he thought this through. "Yes, whatever it takes to get the job done." He said. "I've uploaded all of you with the data on Rock from today. Study it, learn from it. Do not fail me Wood Man."

"Failure is not an option!" Wood Man declared. "If we encounter Rock, we will show no mercy. Unlike Elec Man and the others of the first generation, we are not his brothers. We do not owe him and kindness."

* * *

"Dr. Light, I think I found out where Bomb Man sent those Sniper Joe units." Rock said into his radio.

"Are you sure Rock?" Thomas asked.

"Yes." Rock said as he took cover behind an over turned table. "I can definitely say that I am sure of this." He popped up from behind his cover to throw a couple Hyper Bombs before ducking back down. "There are quite a few of them here, and they're just as tough as you said they would be. Hyper Bombs Seem to be dealing the most damage, but I'm running low on charges."

"I wish I could send you some assistance Rock, but I'm without a means of sending you any E-Tanks." Thomas told him. "They should have a similar energy system to yours. See if you can take any solar cells from the ones that you've taken out."

Luckily there was one just on the other side of his cover, but that would leave him exposed if he tried to search the wrecked frame. He then got an idea as he switched to Time Man's data card, changing to a purple on violet color scheme, and activated the Time Slow. The Sniper Joes were affected just like he was when Time Man used it on him. He used this time to collect solar cells from the downed robot before returning to his cover.

He switched back to Bomb Man's card and exchanged his dead cells for the fresh ones. He still wasn't sure just how it worked yet, but each data card seemed to use its own set of solar cells. He would have to ask Dr. Light about it later. With more energy charges ready, he ran out from his concealment, tossing well aimed Hyper Bombs at the clustered groups of robots.

He stopped behind some more cover near a pile of sparking Sniper Joe frames to gather more solar cells. "This is getting tedious." He complained. "At least I'm almost done with this." He took a peak to see how many of the annoying robots left. "Seven left … Okay, I can do this!" He told himself as he ran back out into the line of fire.

* * *

The news flickered back on with a new video feed as the news anchor voiced over with his report. "Our newest video is currently live as we see Mega Man throwing himself into danger to stop the last Robot Master still active in Neo-Chicago's Solar Fusion Plant. As you can see here, the last Robot Master, Elec Man, has somehow gained control over some of the Neo-Chicago Police Departments new security robots, the Sniper Joe. But even the impressive robots seem to be no match for the heroic robot."

"Your brother seems to be handling himself very well Roll." Jasmine said.

"I didn't even know he had it in him really." Roll said. "When I was there he was always so quiet and reserved. He only spoke when he needed to."

"That is because your brother has always watched, and took note of everything around him." Maria said. "Rock is the silent observer who calculates his every move carefully. Look at how after every strike he makes, he advances towards the fallen robot. I'm willing to be that he is it picking up solar cells to replenish his own supply."

Roll looked at the video more intently, keeping an eye on her brother's movements. She watch him fire off shots at locations that normally would be considered a mistake. Then the objects that he hit would fall onto the Sniper Joes, or block their line of fire to give himself clearance to move ahead. She had never seen this side of her twin before. Just when did he pick up this talent? Or was it already something that was in his system from the day they were activated?

"He's making those robots look like second hand toys." Jasmine said with a smile.

"Well he is designed with the most advanced personality circuit out there." Roll said as she tapped the side of her head. "The Adaman Equation is superior to the average AI out there. Though Rock and I are only working off a limited version of it, we're still more advanced than those Sniper Joes."

"While that is true Roll, don't forget who it was that designed those robots." Maria reminded her. "Albert is far smarter than either Thomas or myself as far as our IQs go. It is possible that he has something else up his sleeve."

* * *

The last Sniper Joe was finally on the floor in a sparking mess. If he had lungs, Rock would be breathing hard. If he had a heart, it would be pumping at a high rate due to the adrenaline rush. He had neither, but his still felt both exhausted and energized at the same time. He took a moment to take in his surroundings. There was too much interference from the generators for him to get an accurate reading on his radar. If anything were around him that he couldn't directly see, he wouldn't know until it was on top of him.

He swapped out Bomb Man's data card for Oil Man's and prepared himself for the offensive, His armor taking on a black on grey color now. He went deeper into the plant, being careful to check every corner and doorway. All that he found were a few human workers that had been hiding from the sounds of battle. After directing him to get out, he continued on his way, finally reaching the central core. He knew what was going to come next, and he took everything into consideration as Elec Man dropped down from the ceiling in front of him.

"The Sniper Joes gave you some trouble, didn't they brother?" He asked in a condescending tone. "What could they possibly have that our other siblings didn't?"

"There were more than one of them Elec Man." Rock replied. "Though I'm sure that wasn't all."

"I suppose that superior numbers would indeed play a factor in that situation." Elec Man agreed. "Whatever it was, I am glad. You're tired after fighting them, as well as the other seven Robot Masters before that. Now it is my turn, and when I'm done with you, your core won't have enough power to work a lightbulb."

Rock grinned at his remaining brother and said, "Shocking!"

"You really can't help that, can you?" Elec Man said with a sigh. "I sometimes wonder if maybe Dr. Light had a sense of humor when he programmed some of us." He began to build up electricity, sparks jumping all around his frame.

Rock dashed to his left as Elec Man let loose a bolt of pure energy at him. He fired several shots of the Oil Slider at him and the floor. He then switched to Cut Man's data card and tossed a Rolling Cutter at Elec Man's head. "I don't want to hurt you too Elec Man, but you aren't giving me much choice."

Elec Man ducked under the attack, but slipped on the oil on the ground and sliding towards a wall. He braced himself and jumped up to some overhanging pipes. "You may not want to Rock, but you still can!" He replied. "Here you are the most peaceful of us all, and yet you're attacking your own brothers. Deep down you're just a violent as we are! And you have the Equation just like we do!" He fired off another energy bolt at him. "We're made to be the most human like robots ever, and you are attacking us like we're common robots."

"Like you guys are any better?" Rock protested as he rolled out of the way of the attack. "You guys attacked humans, and took over the city! Why is that? You were not like this before!" He threw a Rolling Cutter at the pipes Elec Man was hanging from. "Why did you let Dr. Wily change you? Why Elec Man?"

Elec Man landed on the ground and paused in a crouching position. Why was he doing this? Just when did he make the decision to follow Dr. Wily? "I … I don't know?" He replied. "I don't know, but I cannot refuse his orders regardless."

"Yes you can Elec Man!" Rock said with encouragement. "That is why we have the Equation! So that we can make our own decisions. We can choose our own fates, but we need guidance. We need someone to show us what right and wrong truly means. Our Equation Chips are no better than the mind of a human child when we were activated, but we can learn faster. We can understand more due to how our memory works."

"I … I don't …" Elec Man said as thoughts flooded his mind. He never wanted to hurt anyone. He didn't want to take over this plant, HIS plant. He just wanted to help people. "I don't want to fight." He said. Then a thought, no, a voice crossed his circuits and his thoughts reversed. "But I have to! He wants me to, needs me to!" He clutched his head as the conflicting thoughts confused him further. "Rock … help … me … please." He said as he struggled for control over himself.

"What can I do?" Rock asked.

"Stop … Me … please!" Elec Man begged. "I can't … keep this up. His programming is … too strong!"

"I can't Elec Man, you're the only one to break through like this." Rock told him. "Fight it!

"I … can't!" He pleaded. "Do it Rock … Or I will do it … for you." With a shaking hand he opened up his chest plate and put a hand on his power core. "You know what will happen if I do it."

"Elec Man!" Rock cried. "Don't do it!"

"Then you have to Rock!" Elec Man shouted. "Do it for me! Do it for the others!" He began charging up another energy bolt. "Choose Rock!"

It was like something clicked inside of his CPU. He switched out his data card for Guts Man's and cocked his arm back. "I'm sorry Elec Man." He said as he punched his brother with enough force to dislodge his core.

With the last remaining bit of power, he smiled. "Thank you … brother." He then fell to the floor as the light left his eyes.

Rock fell to his knees as he took his brother's wreck body and pulled it closer. He knew this feeling that he was experiencing right now. It was the same feeling that he had when Roll left with Dr. Kintobor. He now knew what it was. Sadness. Feeling like he just had his own core ripped from his system, he cradled his brother's head for a moment longer. He pulled himself together, picked up the last bits of Elec Man's core that had been thrown free, and teleported home.

* * *

Thomas was surprised when Rock had returned without requesting a Containment Suit. He understood quickly why that was as he helped him place Elec Man's broken body on the table. He saw the look on Rock's face. "Tell me what happened Rock." He said in his gentle voice.

"He almost broke free Dr. Light." Rock said. "But he was struggling for control. Fighting with every ounce of his being. He … He asked me to stop him. He said that if I didn't, he would." He hesitated as the memory of it lingered in his mind. "He was willing to fry his core Dr. Light. I didn't want to hurt him after he had come so close, but if I didn't …"

"If you didn't, then he would have destroyed his core, and damaged his Prometheus Chip at the same time." Thomas finished for him. "He would have done what I didn't think a Robot could do. He would have killed himself." He placed a caring hand on Rock's shoulder. "You still saved him my boy. I can still fix him, it will just take a while longer than the others."

"I know, but it still hurts." He said. "Why does it hurt? Why do we have to feel?"

"Because that is what makes you human Rockford." Thomas said to him. "If you couldn't feel, then you would be no better than a common computer. No emotion, no understanding. You would only do as you were told." He looked at his with a smile on his face. "If I wanted something like that, I would have built a toaster. You are no toaster Rock. You, your sister, and your brothers were meant to live and work alongside us humans, not for us."

Rock nodded his head, as he remembered the words he said to Elec Man. "We are meant to learn from you, and grow. Just like children do." He said.

"That is it right there." Thomas replied. "All of you are not only my creations. To me you are my children! And I want nothing more than to see my children be happy."

* * *

"How is Rock doing Dr. Light?" Roll asked over the video conference.

"He's in his room right now Roll." Thomas replied. "He had a rough time, but he's strong."

"So how about you tell us what exactly is going on Thomas." Maria said. "All that we ever got were reports from our mutual friend and the occasional TV news."

"Albert took the Robot Masters from the Lab earlier this week." He told them in a somber tone. "He even took the unfinished generation that we were working on."

"The ones you were building for the U.N.?" Maria asked.

"Yes, and he is still out there somewhere with the other two generations." Thomas reminded her. "I'm not sure when he did it, but he had reprogrammed them to follow his orders without question. So far only one of them was able to break free, but only for a short time."

"What about Rock?" Roll inquired. "Why did you give him that combat gear?"

"He … volunteered for it actually." Thomas said. "He came to the conclusion that if we had to wait for an actual combat robot to be built, then more people could be hurt. So he asked me to give him the Combat Upgrade."

"He isn't stuck in that get up, is he?" Maria asked.

"Not the armor, but those Mega Busters are permanently fixed to his arms." Thomas said with a sigh. "Given enough time I think I can make it so that they can at least retract. That could take some time, and I have eight Masters to repair without any help."

"I could always send Roll home to assist you Thomas." Maria told him.

Thomas shook his head. "It is best for Roll to stay with you for now Maria. You don't need to worry about me so much. I have some new help planned. It will have to wait until I finish with this job though."

* * *

TinMan has signed in. [Local time 17:46, CHI]

TheScarf: You've been awfully quiet this week.

TinMan: I've been busy trying to complete my own tasks just like you.

TinMan: I still cannot locate it at this time.

TheScarf: It is out there somewhere TinMan. I'll see what I can turn up now that everything here has settled down.

TinMan: You should focus on your task.

TinMan: The second wave is coming.

TheScarf: Somehow I knew that he wasn't going to wait. So Stumpy and the others are on the move then?

TinMan: They were … As soon as I detected them, they disappeared.

TheScarf: Did they see you?

TinMan: No, this seems to be a part of their plan.

TinMan: They will reveal themselves when they are ready.

TinMan: How is DrFluffums and the sister unit?

TheScarf: Tired of being left out of the loop.

TinMan: Send them my apologies, it was my idea to send them after the remaining stones.

TinMan: They only need to find the other three servers before they can return.

TheScarf: DrFluffums is aware of this, but she is still willing to nag me ear off.

TinMan: That is the way of women I believe. Besides, she sees us all as family.

TinMan: She is concerned for us is all.

TheScarf: I know how she feels. It is almost like we were put on the bus.

TinMan: Try looking after a family for as long as I have.

TheScarf: … Sorry … I tend to forget just how long you've been around.

TinMan: Well I have to get back to work before I am missed.

TheScarf: Have fun "Professor"

TinMan: Keep an eye on activity near the Amazon. "Stumpy" as you called him was last seen there.

TinMan: He will likely be the first to move.

TheScarf: Consider it done TinMan.

TheScarf has signed out. [Local time 17:59, CHI]

TinMan has signed out. [Local time 18:00, CHI]


End file.
